Articles by Chad Hemenway

Chad is National News Editor at Insurance Journal. He has been covering the insurance industry since 2007, reporting on trends and coverage in most lines of insurance as well as natural catastrophes, modeling, regulation, legislation, and litigation. Chad can be reached at chemenway@wellsmedia.com

It’s All in the Family at Higginbotham

There’s a certain “something” about Rusty Reid that makes it clear why folks might like to work for him as chief executive and chairman of Higginbotham. He feels like a buddy, a big brother, maybe an uncle. It takes a …

Modeler KCC Puts Privately Insured Losses at $6.4B From Helene

Karen Clark & Co., the well-regarded storm modeling and analytics firm, estimated that privately insured losses from Hurricane Helene will be about $6.4 billion – from wind, storm surge and inland flooding in nine states. The figure includes residential, commercial …

Dellwood Insurance Says AIG’s ‘Ginned-Up Claims’ Must Be Dismissed

The legal squabble between American International Group (AIG) and a startup-up formed by some former employees continued this week with another filing from Dellwood Insurance Group in support of its motion to dismiss AIG’s claims. Dellwood, in a U.S. District …

Marsh McLennan to Buy TIH’s McGriff Insurance for $7.75B

Marsh McLennan says it has a deal in place to acquire McGriff Insurance Services for $7.75 billion, funded by cash and debt financing. U.S. retail broker McGriff, an affiliate of private-equity backed TIH (formerly Truist Insurance Holdings), had $1.3 billion …

Columbia Insurance to Transfer Personal Auto, Umbrella Books to Safeco

Safeco Insurance, a Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance company, said it has entered into a book transfer agreement with Columbia Insurance Group, a Central and Midwest regional carrier. Under the agreement, mutual insurer Columbia will transfer its entire personal auto and …

FTC Crackdown on Companies Using AI Includes ‘Robot Lawyer,’ Content Generator

As its authority is routinely questioned, the Federal Trade Commission has filed complaints against five companies it said use artificial intelligence (AI) to “supercharge deceptive or unfair conduct.” “Using AI tools to trick, mislead, or defraud people is illegal,” said …

As E&S Market Growth Hits New Heights, Some Risk May Be There to Stay: AM Best

In 2023 the U.S. surplus lines market for the first time surpassed the $100 billion mark in direct premiums written, and some of the risk that has found non-admitted insurers might stay there beyond an eventual turn in the market …

Industry Critiques Trump’s Auto Insurance Rate Data, Promise to Cut Premiums

A comment and promise made by former President Donald Trump on Tuesday received a lot of not-so-positive attention from the insurance industry. “Your Automobile Insurance is up 73% — VOTE FOR TRUMP, I’LL CUT THAT NUMBER IN HALF!,” the current …

Home Insurance Customers Staying Put Despite More Shopping Around: J.D. Power

Chubb, AIG, and Amica lead other insurers in J.D. Power’s assessment of customer satisfaction for home insurance, but the consumer intelligence company said more people are shopping around. The good news for insurers is that only 2.2% actually switched—and that’s …

D&O Market in ‘State of Transition’ on Litigation Trends: Woodruff Sawyer

It looks like the market for directors and officers insurance is shifting, according to Woodruff Sawyer, with the number of renewals seeing flat or price increases for the first time in 18 months. Though 83% of its clients continued to …