Wed.Jul 17, 2024

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California Needs a Million EV Charging Stations — But That’s ‘Unlikely’ and ‘Unrealistic’

Insurance Journal

California will have to build public charging stations at an unprecedented — and some experts say unrealistic — pace to meet the needs of the 7 million electric cars expected on its roads in less than seven years.

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ACA 411: Selling Medical Insurance on the Federal Exchange | Solstice

Solstice Insurance Broker

So, you want to stay in the game and sell on the Federal Facilitated Marketplace (FFM)? Open Enrollment runs from November 1st to January 15th. Before you start selling, it is important to know that you must get certified through an online training portal provided by the government.

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BMW Recalling Over 1,100 More Vehicles Over Airbag Concern, NHTSA Says

Insurance Journal

BMW is recalling 1,145 vehicles in the United States over a potential issue that may cause the driver’s airbag to explode during deployment, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday.

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What Community Association Directors Should Know About Working With Citizens

Wren Insurance Agency

While Citizens has become a popular choice among residential homeowners in recent years - due primarily to skyrocketing private carrier costs and non-renewals from companies leaving Florida - residential HOAs and Boards of Directors are just starting to see a sharp incline in Citizens policies. As you may already know, Citizens is the government-backed insurer created to be a "last resort" for properties that either can't get insured through the private market or aren't able to find an affordabl

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OPTIS: Insurance Agency M&A Reaches 4-Year, First-Half Low

Insurance Journal

The total of insurance agency mergers and acquisitions during the first six months of 2024 was the lowest over the first half since 2020, according to investment banking and financial firm OPTIS Partners.

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5 Tips to Maximize Your Agency's Customer Retention Through Exceptional Service | EverQuote

EverQuote

For insurance agents, retaining a current customer is less costly and less time-consuming than winning over a new client. But many agents struggle with customer retention, lacking a systematic strategy to retain customers they're already acquired. In this article from Agent's Alliance , the author discusses why it's so important for insurance agents to focus on retention.

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Rebuilding After Hurricanes is Complex, Can Change Character of a Community

Insurance Journal

HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Before Hurricane Idalia smashed into a small fishing village in northwestern Florida, Charles Long, 68, was fixing up a two-bedroom house for him and his wife.

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World Bank Eyes First ‘Drought’ Bond in Next 12-18 Months

Insurance Journal

The World Bank is looking to issue its first drought bond in the next 12-18-months and broaden its offering of catastrophe bonds supporting countries suffering devastation from storms and earthquakes, a senior executive at the lender said.

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People Moves: DUAL Swiss Taps Tokio Marine’s Wyss as Managing Director; WTW Appoints 3 Senior Hires to International Casualty Team

Insurance Journal

This edition of International People Moves details appointments at managing general agent DUAL Europe and insurance broker WTW. A summary of these new hires follows here.

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Fleming Files Lawsuit Against James River, Alleging Fraud During JRG Re Acquisition

Insurance Journal

Fleming Intermediate Holdings filed a lawsuit against James River Group Holdings Ltd., alleging it had been defrauded during its $300 million acquisition of JRG Reinsurance Co.

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Popular California Restauranteur Fined $71K for Failing to Pay Overtime

Insurance Journal

A popular Sonoma County chef denied three workers at its Healdsburg, California establishment of more than $35,000 in overtime wages, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

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Russian Tactics Make Secret Tanker Oil Switching Harder to Trace

Insurance Journal

Two near-identical oil tankers trying to beat western sanctions. A secret transfer of Russian crude halfway between Iran and Oman. A supertanker giving a false location. Welcome to the modern trade in Russian petroleum as western sanctions get tougher.

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Squishmallows Maker Can Sue Build-A-Bear Over Alleged Plush Toy Knockoffs

Insurance Journal

A U.S. judge rejected Build-A-Bear Workshop’s effort to dismiss a lawsuit claiming that its Skoosherz plush toys were unauthorized knockoffs of Squishmallows, the popular plush toys made by a unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.

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Deere Retreats From Diversity Measures After Online Attacks

Insurance Journal

Deere & Co., the world’s top farm machinery maker, is pulling back from diversity measures in the face of conservative criticism, the second agriculture-related company in less than a month to bend to such pressure.

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Reckitt Sales to Be Hit by Tornado at Indiana Warehouse

Insurance Journal

Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc said sales will be affected by a tornado that struck a warehouse in Mount Vernon, Indiana, where it stores products and raw ingredients for its baby formula business.

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Georgia Appeals Court Questions Insolvency Pool’s Subrogation in Comp Cases

Insurance Journal

Georgia employers and their workers’ compensation insurers can rest a little easier after an appeals court this week narrowed the circumstances in which a state guaranty association can seek reimbursement on claims paid after staffing firms’ insurance carriers become insolvent.

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Record Flooding and Tornadoes This Spring In Iowa Caused $130M in Damage

Insurance Journal

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Record flooding and powerful tornadoes ravaged parts of Iowa for weeks this spring, destroying or damaging thousands of homes, closing roads and bridges and costing over $130 million in infrastructure damage, officials said Thursday.

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Minnesota Workers’ Comp System Stable Despite COVID-19 Impact

Insurance Journal

Workers’ compensation claim rates and benefits paid in Minnesota continue to be stable or follow their long-term downward trajectories, a new Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) report shows.

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Texas Governor Criticizes CenterPoint Energy After Beryl Power Outages

Insurance Journal

The majority of Houston outages that followed Hurricane Beryl should be fixed by Wednesday, the city’s main utility company said as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to punish CenterPoint Energy even after the lights come back.

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Man Admits to Tracking Drivers, Programming Keys, Stealing and Then Reselling Vehicles

Insurance Journal

A New Jersey man has admitted to orchestrating a multistate car theft and fraud ring that involved tracking drivers, programming keys, stealing their cars, and reselling their vehicles. U.S. Attorney Philip R.

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Town in Louisiana’s Cancer Alley Divided Over a Planned Grain Terminal

Insurance Journal

WALLACE, La. (AP) — Sisters Jo and Dr. Joy Banner live just miles from where their ancestors were enslaved more than 200 years ago in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana.

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FM Global Rebrands As FM

Insurance Journal

FM Global said it will now be known simply as FM. The commercial property insurer on July 17 unveiled its new name and “titanium” logo at the company’s midyear meeting.

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People Moves: Intact Hires Janssens as SVP of West Coast Commercial Surety; Odiorne Chief Deputy Insurance Commissioner in Washington

Insurance Journal

Intact Hires Janssens as SVP of West Coast Commercial Surety Intact Insurance Specialty Solutions, the brand for Intact Financial Corporation’s U.S. insurance company subsidiaries, headquartered in Plymouth, Minnesota, hired Erik Janssens as senior vice president of West Coast Commercial Surety.

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Coalition Asks FEMA to Make Wildfire Smoke, Extreme Heat Eligible for Disaster Funds

Insurance Journal

A group of 14 attorney generals has formed a coalition to persuade the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to initiate rulemaking to update its regulations to recognize extreme heat and wildfire smoke events as eligible for major disaster declarations under …

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UK Lays Out Stronger Cybersecurity Defenses After Attack Crippled NHS Hospitals

Insurance Journal

The new UK government plans to strengthen the nation’s defenses against cyberattacks, a month after a ransomware hack crippled London hospitals and health care providers.

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Allianz Makes $1.6 Billion Offer for 51% of Income Insurance

Insurance Journal

Allianz has made an offer to acquire at least 51% of Singapore’s Income Insurance Ltd. in a transaction valued at about S$2.2 billion ($1.6 billion).

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Air Canada Hit by Court Ruling After Ex-Maintenance Workers Sue

Insurance Journal

Air Canada may be forced to pay at least C$100 million ($73.2 million) to about 2,200 former workers after a Quebec court issued a ruling in their class-action lawsuit against the airline.

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Religious Liberty Bars Priest’s Defamation Claim Against Bishop, Virginia Court Rules

Insurance Journal

A priest’s defamation claim against his bishop is barred by the religious liberty protections in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and the Virginia Constitution, a Virginia appeals court has ruled.

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Massachusetts Insurance Agency Deland, Gibson Acquires Atchue Agency

Insurance Journal

Independent insurance agency Deland, Gibson Insurance Associates in Wellesley, Massachusetts announced it recently acquired Atchue Insurance Agency, which is located about 35 miles away in Worcester. Founded by Earl V. Atchue, Jr.

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UK’s First Coal Mine in 30 Years Faces Climate Court Test

Insurance Journal

Climate groups called a decision to open the UK’s first deep coal mine in more than three decades unlawful, claiming that approval was granted without taking into account all the harmful emissions that it would produce.

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AM Best Revises A.I.M. Mutual Outlook to Positive, Affirms ‘Excellent’ Ratings

Insurance Journal

AM Best reports that it has revised the outlook to positive from stable for the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of members of A.I.M. Mutual Insurance Companies.

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Islamic Insurance Helps Cover Muslim Farmers Battling Climate Change

Insurance Journal

On his four and a half acres of land in central Pakistan, Izhar ul-Haq approaches farming as a science.

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People Moves: VIAA Hires Sherman as Book Management Coach

Insurance Journal

Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA), headquartered in St. Louis, hired Carly Sherman as a book management coach. Sherman is focused on improving the profitability of personal lines production with both strategic and regional partner carriers.

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High Condo Premiums a Top Issue in Hawaii Legislative Races

Insurance Journal

Jillian Anderson was planning to make fighting crime in Waikiki the top issue in her campaign for a seat in the Hawaii House of Representatives.

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Blue Cross Won’t Appeal: Aetna Set to Run NC State Worker Health Benefits

Insurance Journal

RALEIGH, N.C.

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Horticultural Grower Fined $172K Over Sexual Harassment at Texas Location

Insurance Journal

Altman Specialty Plants, LLC, the largest horticultural grower in the United States, will pay $172,000 in monetary relief and furnish extensive injunctive relief to resolve a finding of sex discrimination and retaliation by the U.S.

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Russian Cybersecurity Firm Kaspersky Labs to Wind Down US Operations

Insurance Journal

Kaspersky Labs will gradually wind down its U.S. operations from July 20, the Russian anti-virus software maker said on Monday, nearly a month after the Biden administration announced plans to bar sales of the company in the country.

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