Articles by Insurance Journal Staff Reports

Another Kentucky Farmer Pleads Guilty to Crop Insurance Fraud

A Kentucky farmer is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to defrauding the federal crop insurance program of almost $1.5 million. Robert Thomas Hunt, of Taylor County in central Kentucky, asked grain haulers to sell his soybean, corn and wheat under …

Florida Bill Would Limit AI in Claims Denials, Extend Bar on Execs, Raise Surplus Levels

After years of rising insurance premiums, anger from homeowners, and recent reports about some property insurance carriers’ alleged diverting of profits, bills seen as “consumer friendly” continue to gain traction in the Florida Legislature. One of those bills, Senate Bill …

Kentucky Bill to Trim State OSHA Agency Powers Now on the Governor’s Desk

The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a non-profit advocacy group, is sounding the alarm about a Kentucky bill that was passed swiftly this month and is now on the governor’s desk. If signed into law, it would limit …

Florida Citizens Moving to Safer Jacksonville Office Away from Downtown

Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is planning to move its Jacksonville office, due in part to security concerns at its current downtown location where more than 800 employees have worked for the last 10 years. The Citizens Board of Governors …

SC House Approves Liquor Liability Bill But Broader Tort Reform May Be Dead

The South Carolina House of Representatives voted 109-0 Thursday in favor of a bill that would end joint-and-several liability for bars and restaurants and would incentivize additional alcohol-server training, an effort to reduce liquor liability insurance costs in the state. …

Judge Dismisses Charges Against NJ Insurance Exec Norcross

In a prosecution that local news outlets had called “stunning,” a New Jersey judge has made an equally stunning dismissal of corruption and racketeering charges against insurance executive and Democratic power broker George Norcross III and five co-defendants New Jersey …

Judge Triples Jury Award in Nautilus Insurance Suit Against Murdaugh Accomplice

A federal judge last week tripled the damages that Alex Murdaugh’s co-conspirator must pay to Nautilus Insurance Co., bringing the total to $3.75 million – plus significant attorney fees incurred by the insurer. A jury last week found Cory Fleming, …

NC Insurance Broker Sentenced to Five Years in Long-running Tax Scheme

A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a North Carolina insurance agent to five years in prison for his role in a decade-long scheme that created fraudulent tax shelters and cheated the U.S. government of more than $22 million in tax …

Dozens of Alleged Looters, Unlicensed Construction Workers Arrested in Florida

More than 100 people were arrested late last week in storm-ravaged Pinellas County, Florida, charged with looting homes and working as unlicensed contractors, two weeks after Hurricane Milton forced many residents to evacuate. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said that …

Beware of Hidden Email Addresses: TN School Transferred $3M to Fake Account

A school district in Tennessee temporarily lost more than $3 million after a district employee was duped into sending funds to a fake vendor. The finance director for the Johnson County Board of Education, in northeast Tennessee, in March wired …