Latest Kansas Headlines
All the headlines from our Kansas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Kansas Man Sentenced to 12 Months Probation For Insurance Fraud
Mar 12 2024 // Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announced last week that an Overland Park man has been sentenced to 12 months of probation for insurance fraud. Matthew Finholm, age 43, pleaded guilty in the District Court of...
Kansas Truck Washing Company Cited After Worker Dies From Harmful Gases
Mar 11 2024 // Federal investigators determined a Liberal, Kansas truck washing company failed to protect workers from hydrogen sulfide gas as they entered over-the-road tanker trailers to clean them out, causing one worker’s fatal...
Missouri Man, Woman Sentenced in $1.1M Insurance Fraud Scheme
Mar 8 2024 // Two Columbia, Missouri residents were sentenced in federal court on March 6 for their roles in a $1.1 million insurance fraud scheme that involved false claims of injuries suffered in faked car accidents. Michael Lee Gene...
Kansas’ Conrade Insurance Group Discloses Data Breach
Mar 1 2024 // Conrade Insurance Group this week reported a data breach upon identifying unusual activity in its email system. The Newton, Kansas-based insurance agency posted a Notice of data Event on its website stating an...
People Moves: VIAA Names Drda Alliance Coordinator; Alliant Names Cohan Employee Benefits Group VP in Kansas City
Feb 22 2024 // VIAA Names Drda Alliance Coordinator Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA), a cohesive family of more than 160 independent insurance agencies in Missouri and Illinois, hired David Drda as an alliance coordinator. Drda...
Kansas Banker Charged With Embezzling $47M to Buy Crypto
Feb 8 2024 // The former chief executive officer of a Kansas bank was charged with embezzling $47.1 million from the lender to buy cryptocurrency, as the tale of tiny Heartland Tri-State Bank and its failure unfolds. Shan Hanes, who led...
Jackie Robinson Statue Stolen From Kansas Park, Sparking Outrage and Police Search
Jan 29 2024 // WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A prized statue of Jackie Robinson was stolen from a public park in Kansas, spurring a police search Friday and outrage across the city of Wichita. The statue honors the first player to break Major...
Kansas Commissioner Schmidt to Serve on Three NAIC Committees
Jan 25 2024 // Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announced that she will be serving on three committees for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) in 2024. Committee assignments were made at the NAIC’s...
Inszone Acquires Kansas’ American Heritage Agency
Jan 23 2024 // Inszone Insurance Services announced the acquisition of American Heritage Agency, Inc., a well-established insurance agency that has been serving the Hays community in Kansas since 1999. This marks Inszone’s entry...
Kansas Man Sentenced for Insurance Fraud
Jan 22 2024 // Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announced a Kansas man has been sentenced to 12 months of probation for insurance fraud. Cloise Allen, age 46, pled guilty in the District Court of Sedgwick County to one...
People & Places
Jan 22 2024 // National London-based Rokstone, the Aventum Group’s re/insurance MGA, appointed Alex Berisha head of U.S. marine cargo and Derek Vandermyde as underwriting manager, Inland Marine. Both are based in New York. Berisha...
Kansas Court System Seeks $2.6M to Recover from Cyberattack
Jan 19 2024 // TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas court system needs at least $2.6 million in additional funds to recover from an October cyberattack that prevented the electronic filing of documents and blocked online access to records...
Kansas Insurance Department Recovers $16M in 2023
Jan 17 2024 // Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announced the Kansas Insurance Department recovered more than $16 million for Kansans in 2023, the largest single-year recovery in Department history. This new record goes beyond...
Tyson Foods, Cargill Suspend Kansas Beef Plants Due to Snowstorm
Jan 9 2024 // CHICAGO – Tyson Foods TSN.N and Cargill CARG.UL said on Tuesday it suspended operations at beef processing plants in Kansas due to a massive snowstorm, disrupting U.S. meat production. Cargill, a major producer of...
Top Midwest Insurance Journal Stories of 2023
Dec 29 2023 // Insurance Journal Midwest readers in 2023 gravitated to stories on multi-million dollar rulings, policy language disputes and failing mutual insurance companies. Readers were also interested in the fallout of the East...
Ice Storms and Blizzards Pummel the Central US
Dec 28 2023 // MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – From an ice storm in North Dakota that sealed windows shut to blizzard conditions in Colorado causing hundreds of airport delays and cancellations, a winter storm pummeled much of the central United...
Kansas Courts’ Computer Systems Coming Back Online Following Cyberattack
Dec 19 2023 // TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – The court system in Kansas has started bringing its computer system for managing cases back online, two months after a foreign cyberattack forced officials to shut it down along with public access to...
Relation Insurance Acquires Kansas-Based Kane Insurance Agency
Dec 15 2023 // Relation Insurance Services acquired the assets of Kane Insurance Agency. The transaction went into effect on December 1, 2023 and terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Serving Illinois individuals and businesses...
People Moves: XPT Specialty Adds Swift to Brokerage Team; Alliant Names Davis Employee Benefits VP in Kansas City
Dec 14 2023 // Swift Joins XPT Specialty Brokerage Team XPT Specialty, headquartered in New York, N.Y., hired Ben Swift as an underwriter/broker specializing in commercial binding accounts for Midwest retailers. Before joining XPT, Swift...
Kansas Insurance Companies to See Reduced Surplus Lines Tax Rate in 2024
Dec 8 2023 // Insurance companies in Kansas will pay a reduced surplus lines tax rate beginning next year after the legislature passed a law lowering the surplus tax rate from 6% to 3% for tax years 2024 and after. Kansas insurance...
