Articles by Don Jergler

California Insurance Commissioner Provisionally OKs State Farm’s 22% Rate Request

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara provisionally approved State Farm’s request for a 22% interim homeowners insurance rate hike, the California Department of Insurance announced on Friday. The approval depends on whether the company can justify the rate increase with data …

Arthur J. Gallagher to Acquire Woodruff Sawyer for $1.2B

Insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Woodruff Sawyer for $1.2 billion. Andy Barrengos, chairman and CEO of San Francisco-based Woodruff Sawyer, will operate under the direction of Peter Doyle, head of Gallagher’s …

US GDP Could Take a Big Hit From Climate Change by 2100, Study Shows

A working paper from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office recently estimated the distribution of changes in gross domestic product in the year 2100 resulting from changes in temperature. And it could be bad, really bad—or hopefully not so bad, if …

California Approves FAIR Plan Request to Assess Insurers $1B for Wildfire Claims

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara approved a California FAIR Plan request for a $1 billion assessment on admitted market insurers to cover claims from the Los Angeles wildfires. The FAIR Plan reported it has paid more than $914 million to …

Climate Risks Again Top List of Risk Manager Worries

Climate risks, disruptive technology and geopolitical instability are what worry risk managers most, according to a joint survey from the Casualty Actuarial Society and the Society of Actuaries. The 18th Annual Emerging Risk Survey is an online questionnaire prompting risk …

USAA Becomes 3rd Insurer to Report $1B-Plus in Claims So Far for LA Wildfires

USAA has paid out more than $1 billion for the Los Angeles wildfires, making it the third insurer to report $1 billion or more in payouts for the destructive blazes that burned thousands of properties. The company, which is among …

Insurance Payouts at $4 Billion and Counting for LA Wildfires

Preliminary data show insurance companies have paid out more than $4 billion for losses from the biggest two of the Los Angeles-area wildfires that swept through the region and destroyed tens of thousands of homes earlier this month. The picture …

LA Wildfires by the Numbers: Insured Losses, Total Losses, Ratings, Rates

The impact of the historic Los Angeles-area wildfires is being broadly examined and continually refined, with updates almost daily on insured losses, total economic losses and damages, credit ratings—and lately worrying outlooks for the effect of the fires on insurance …

Actuary Group Forecasts Climate Change to Have Massive GDP Hit Without Policy Action

Here’s stark warning in a new report from a group of actuaries: the global economy could face a 50% loss in GDP between 2070 and 2090. That is if immediate policy actions on risks posed by climate change are not …

The Most Important LA Wildfire Stories to Know About

As firefighters gain more control over what have become the most destructive wildfires in U.S. history in a matter of days, the scale of the destruction and losses is becoming clearer. Despite the cacophony of a world stage that includes …