U.S. auto thefts probably rose in 2012 after eight straight years of declines as criminals took advantage of California’s budget cuts and reduced police forces, an insurance-industry group said. Thefts rose 1.3 percent last year from 715,373 in 2011, according …
Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance — the new commercial P/C insurance unit of Berkshire Hathaway — appointed Ralph Tortorella III as senior vice president, chief legal and compliance officer. Tortorella was previously the global specialty general counsel at Liberty Mutual Group …
A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of Bermuda-based Associated Electric & Gas Insurance Services Limited (AEGIS), and has assigned both ratings a positive outlook. Best said the rating …
Shale has killed climate policy. Now the International Energy Agency (IEA) is trying to bring it back to life. Following the shale revolution, policymakers can no longer count on peaking oil and gas supplies and soaring fuel prices to save …
Swiss Re’s latest sigma study reveals that “total global premiums written increased by 2.4 percent in real terms in 2012 to $4.613 trillion. Life premiums expanded by 2.3 percent unwinding some of the contraction in 2011, thanks to improvements in …
Aon Benfield Analytics’ Market Analysis team has released its latest Lloyd’s Update report, covering the market’s 2012 financial results and business position in 2013 The report highlights the following “key findings: — Lloyd’s reported a pre-tax profit of £2.8 billion …
Kentucky officials will start a yearlong study next month to determine the effects of controversial new laws designed to curb prescription pill abuse. The Courier-Journal reported that the Cabinet for Health and Family Services has contracted with the University of …
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action may force universities to re-examine their admissions policies and face waves of litigation about race- based admission. In a 7-1 ruling yesterday, the justices ordered a federal appeals court to scrutinize again …
Kentucky has its bourbon distilleries, St. Louis its Budweiser factory, Napa and Sonoma their wineries, and cities from San Diego to Philadelphia have turned into meccas for beer lovers looking for local craft brews. Now business owners and history buffs …
State and federal officials investigating the cause of the deadly blast on June 13 at the Williams Companies Inc. plant near Gonzales, La., plan to inspect a key element of the facility that one federal investigator said “failed catastrophically.” Investigators …
