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Alera Group Selects Englert as National P&C Leader

Alera Group, a national employee benefits, property/casualty, risk management and wealth management firm based in Deerfield, Illinois, has appointed Mark Englert as national property/casualty practice leader. Englert will be responsible for continuing Alera Group’s path toward building world-class property/casualty solutions. …

Higginbotham in Texas Buys Commercial Insurance Unit of Extraco Banks

Extraco Banks has sold its commercial insurance operation to Fort Worth, Texas-based independent insurance broker, Higginbotham. Extraco Insurance is a group of five property/casualty insurance professionals operating in Waco, Temple and Hamilton, Texas, for 19 years. The group will continue …

Company Cited, Fined $341K After Fatality at Texas Tire Retreading Facility

A Mississippi company faces more than $341,000 in penalties for failing to protect employees from serious safety hazards, a practice that led to a worker’s death at a plant in Texas, federal safety officials say. The U.S. Department of Labor’s …

Chicago Staffing Firm to Pay $50K to Settle Sex Harassment Lawsuit

Chicago-based Staff Management | SMX (SMX), which provides temporary employees to the light-industrial sector worldwide, will pay $50,000 to a female former employee and furnish other relief to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by federal officials. The U.S. Equal …

Tower Hill Specialty Adds Coverage Options in Mississippi

Tower Hill Specialty has further expanded into the Southeast and is now offering manufactured housing and dwelling fire insurance policies in Mississippi. Optional coverage features include equipment breakdown and service line endorsements. The equipment breakdown option provides coverage for items …

10 Arrests Made in Florida Unlicensed Contractor, Workers’ Comp Fraud Sting

Ten individuals have been arrested in a three-day unlicensed contracting and workers’ compensation fraud sting in Pinellas County, Fla., according to a statement from Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis. The joint operation between fraud detectives with the Florida Department of Financial …

Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Elects Blum President

Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey (PIANJ) has elected Bruce Blum of Somerset, N.J., president at the association’s annual business meeting at Harrah’s in Atlantic City. Blum is owner of Blum & Walsh Group Inc., a division of T.E. Freuler …

New York Senator Schumer Calls for Repairs to Lake Ontario Infrastructure

New York Senator Chuck Schumer plans to call on the Army Corps of Engineers to provide funding for repairs to flood-ravaged infrastructure at Little Sodus Bay Harbor on Lake Ontario. A pier and a barrier bar began to collapse in …

Operator Cleared of Fault in Boston Red Line Derailment

Transit officials say the operator of a Red Line train that derailed in Boston this week was not at fault in the mishap. An MBTA spokesman tells The Boston Globe that the investigation into last Tuesday’s derailment, the second within …

Spragg Named President of Berkley Select

W.R. Berkley Corp. announced the appointment of Daniel R. Spragg as president of its specialty unit, Berkley Select. Spragg has 30 years of experience in the specialty insurance and insurance consulting industries. He most recently served as founding partner of …