News for October 2019

• Bain, Vista Said to Be Weighing Sale of Software Firm Vertafore. Could It Bring $5 Billion?
• A.M. Best Says Insurers Challenged by ‘New Normal’ of California Wildfires
• Report: Cannabis Dispensaries May Become ‘Most Profitable’ Specialty Stores
• Kentucky-Based Humana to Lay Off More Than 800 Employees
• Houston-Area Residents Get Encroachment Letters as Flood Control Projects Proceed
• Number of Volunteer Firefighters Continues to Grow in Oklahoma
• Farm Bankruptcies Up 24% on Strain from Trump Trade War
• Indiana Environmental Regulators: Steelmaker Too Slow to Act on Chemical Spill
• Issuer Credit Outlook Revised to Positive for Upland Mutual Insurance in Kansas
• Certified Diversity and Inclusion Professional, White, Joins Michigan’s Kapnick Insurance
• J.M. Wilson Promotes Russon to Corporate Trainer in Michigan
• Industry Applauds House Panel Backing of Terrorism Reinsurance Renewal
• Inquiry into Grenfell Tower Inferno Criticizes Fire Brigade for Higher Fatalities
• States Eye Private Flood Insurance Model Law Industry Thinks Is Unnecessary
• Groups, Officials Pen Letter to 3 Large California Insurers Asking Them to Ditch Fossil Fuels
• Court Orders Replay of Song Copyright Case Against Taylor Swift
• A Trailblazer in the Lloyd’s Marketplace Looks Back and Ahead
• Colorado Fertility Doc Used Own Sperm to Impregnate Woman, Lawsuit Charges
• Uber And Lyft Will Ask California Voters to Block Employee Law
• Swiss Re and Pioneer to Offer Telematics Solution for Insurers in 2020
• All Countries at Risk from Spread of African Swine Fever: OIE
• Selective Insurance Taps Marchioni to Succeed Murphy in 2020 as CEO
• U.K. Company Insolvencies Rise to Highest Level Since 2014 on Brexit Crisis
• NI Holdings Agrees to Purchase Maryland’s Westminster American Insurance Company
• Insurance Cost Strategy Key to Lyft’s Path to Profitability
• Officials Say Warehouse Fire Most Costly in Alabama City’s History
• Georgia Plant Agrees to Close in Fight Over Gas Emissions
• The Hilb Group Acquires New York’s Avanti Associates
• Automakers Face Independents in Battle Over Car Tech Repair Aftermarket
• Fire That Killed Woman, Girl in Pennsylvania Blamed on Overloaded Circuit
• Liberty Company Brokers Announces New Affiliate in Atlanta
• TMK Launches Flagship Cyber Product, Cyber Ctrl, in Asia
• Velocity Risk Underwriters Expands Coverage to Coastal Homeowners in New Jersey
• Miami Specialty Risk Launches Lloyd’s-Backed Cyber, Technology E&O Facility
• Texas Warns of Insurance Deductibles Scam Following Dallas Storms
• Cavignac & Associates in California Names Dix Human Resources Risk Advisor
• Another $550M in Properties at Immediate Risk in 3 California Blazes, Report Shows
• Idaho Man Sentenced for Insurance Fraud With Fictitious Golf Club Receipts
• Womack Named Vice Chair, Morrison Secretary-Treasurer at Texas Windstorm Insurer
• PCS Extends Catastrophe Loss Methodology to Australia, N. Zealand, SE Asia
• Markel Adds Cybersecurity Risk Management Tool to Cyber Products
• Louisiana State Fire Marshal’s Office Awarded $55K Federal Smoke Alarm Grant
• McGriff, Siebels & Williams Expands in Midwest, Opens Kansas City Office
• Michigan’s H.W. Kaufman Group Hires Fusinski as Chief Information Officer
• Company Fined Nearly $1.6M After 4 Workers Killed in Illinois Plant Explosion
• Texas Oilfield Worker Killed by Poisonous Gas; Wife Dies Checking on Him
• Utah’s Vaping Rate Reportedly 6 Times Higher Than National Average
• Trial Opens in Suit Over ‘Frankenstein’ Use of Remains by Arizona Center
• London Run-off Specialist RiverStone Acquires 2 Cayman-Based Captives
• Chubb Continued Performing at ‘High Level’ in Q3
• Study Shows Need for Drug Programs for Construction Workers at Risk
• Subcontracted Workers Most at Risk from Accidents in S. Korea’s Shipyards
• Facebook to Pay $644,000 Fine in U.K. over Cambridge Analytica Scandal
• Cyber Attack on Asia-Pacific Ports Could Cost $110B, Hitting Global Supply Chains
• Two Georgia Suspects Arrested, Charged With Defrauding Lemonade Insurance Company
• Four Family Members Injured in Plane Crash Outside Rochester
• Beazley Appoints Smith as Miscellaneous Medical Underwriter in Georgia
• PMC Insurance Group Promotes Nina Vellucci to VP in the South Region
• Serial Arsonist Arrested in Georgia After Setting Three Fires
• Seeman Holtz Acquires New Jersey’s Geisenheimer Agency
• Risk Strategies Acquires Pennsylvania’s Dash & Love
• How Specialty Carriers Approach Product Innovation: Research, Repeat and Reuse
• Blending Generations: Why Millennials, and the Industry, Must Bridge the Gap
• Hemp and CBD Remain Risky Businesses in Uncertain Legal and Gig Climate
• Study: 94.1% Approval Rate for California Workers’ Comp Treatment Services
• Capital in California Names Doll Senior Vice President, Chief Operation Officer
• XPT Group Acquires Sierra Specialty in California
• SEC Investigating Valic, AIG’s Teacher Retirement Plan Unit, Reports WSJ
• Men Charged with Stealing New Tractors Worth $80K from Louisiana Business
• Ohio’s AmVenture Insurance Agency Changes Name to Suracy Insurance Agency
• Bishop Joins Houston’s Insgroup as Sr. VP, Commercial Lines
• Sherman Named Branch Manager in J.M. Wilson’s Wisconsin Office
• Former Managers of Ohio Aluminum Plant Sentenced on Obstruction of Justice Charges
• Louisiana Homeowners Insurer, Gulf States, Acquires Coastal American Holdings
• Typhoon Hagibis Likely to Cause Earnings Event for Japan’s Insurers: Fitch
• Broker Aon to Move Jurisdiction of Incorporation to Ireland Due to Brexit
• Ransomware Attacks Rise 37% in Q3, Targeting IT Vendors, Their Clients: Beazley
• Accredited Surety Unveils Program Underwriting Partnership for Western States
• PG&E Open to Extending California Wildfire Victim Claims Deadline
• This Wildfire Metric Threatens to Upend PG&E’s Restructuring Plan
• California Wildfire Damage at $25.4B and Rising
• Beazley Beefs Up U.S. Large Property Team with Berkshire’s Westhoff, Ironshore’s Irwin
• Lowsley Joins Hanover from Navigators as Chief Human Resources Officer
• Vehicles’ Pedestrian Warning Systems Need Improvement, Says IIHS
• Markel Adds Cyber Security Tool WhiteHaX for Cyber Insurance Customers
• BHSI Forms Construction, Casualty Teams in France, Led by AXA XL’s Antiphon, Bonifay
• Hong Kong Falls into Recession, Hit by 5 Months of Protests
• Investment Firm Apollo Hikes Stake in Athene to 35% in Deal Worth $1.55B
• Chubb Taps Poole from Tokio Marine as Head of Middle Market, UK & Ireland
• Alabama Power to Pay $222K Over Chemical Spill, Dead Fish
• Manhattan Worker Crushed to Death in Construction Elevator
• Maryland’s Attorney General Sues Kushner Apartment Company
• Vermont Cheesemaker Shutting Down After Listeria Outbreak, Recall
• Mississippi Highway Worker Killed Clearing Trees from Road
• Alabama Auto Parts Manufacturer Cited for Amputation Hazards After Worker Injury
• Study Finds El Niños Getting Stronger
• Lockton Pacific Series Promotes Harrison and Davis in California, Oregon
• Officials Warn Vaping Illness Hasn’t Peaked, Cause of Illnesses Still Unknown
• Autonomous Deliveries Will Likely Catch on Before Taxis, Says Waymo CEO
• Idaho Department of Insurance Names Trexler Deputy Director
• Cox Appointed VP, Business Development at Midwest Employers Casualty
• More than 5K Minnesota Motorists Cited for Using Cellphones While Driving
• Iowa Revokes License of Arizona Insurance Agent Over Annuity Fraud Scheme
• Michigan Governor Wants to Make More Workers Eligible for Overtime
• Five Indicted in Louisiana for Staged Accident Insurance Fraud Scheme
• Brad Pitt, Others Can Be Sued over New Orleans Homes, Judge Says
• Ex-CEO of Louisiana Foundation Gets 33 Months for $550K Embezzlement
• Give Technology Some Credit for Happier Auto Insurance Customers
• Students Sue Colleges for Saying No to Medical Cannabis
• Utah Vape Shops Sue Health Department Over E-Cigarette Rule
• Idaho City Bans Handheld Phone Use While Driving
• California Agent Arrested for Allegedly Stealing $148K, Leaving Client Uninsured
• PG&E Power Shutoffs Hit 2.7M as California Wildfires Burn
• Torrential Rain Causes Flooding, Mudslides in Japan, Killing at Least 10
• Moody’s Upgrades AmWINS Ratings
• Remnants of Olga Push into Mississippi, Leaving Damage
• Massachusetts Launches Investigation into Natural Gas Disaster
• Poll Shows #MeToo Movement Is Changing Workplace Conversations, Behavior
• Marsh JLT Specialty Taps Nevill from Gard (UK) as CEO, UK Marine & Cargo
• U.K. Aims to Ensure Post-Brexit Strength of Financial Services Sector: Minister
• Blackstone’s Lombard Could Face Legal Issue with $1B-Plus of Unsigned Policies
• Connecticut Woman Pleads Guilty to Stealing $370K from Former Employer
• Lloyd’s Insurer AEGIS London Launches Digital Trading Division
• Philadelphia Businessman Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for $34M Fraud
• WCRI Study Examines Impact of Reforms on New York Workers’ Comp System
• Johannesburg City Hit by Hackers Who Demanded Bitcoin Ransom
• Boeing 737 Max’s Design, Pilot and Regulatory Errors Caused Lion Air Crash
• EU Agrees to Delay Brexit Until Jan. 31, as U.K. Parliament’s Impasse Continues
• Senators Introduce Safety Legislation to Address Boeing 737 Issues
• Walmart, CVS and Rite Aid Yank Recalled J&J Baby Powder Off Shelves
• Florida Health System Fined $2M for Multiple HIPAA Breaches
• University of Louisville Settles Naming Rights Dispute with Papa John’s for $9.5M
• AIG Expanding at Lloyd’s With New Unit for U.S. High-Net Worth Market
• Southeast Haunted House Requires Scary Amount of Preparation, Insurance
• Arkansas Restaurant Faces Charges of Sex Harassment of Teens, Young Adults
• Insurer Group: Dallas Tornado Outbreak Costliest in Texas History
• Schweisthal Named Asst. Surety Underwriter at J.M. Wilson in Indiana
• Kansas-Oklahoma Border Shaken by 3.7 Magnitude Quake
• Majority of Ohio Medical Marijuana Users over 40, Data Shows
• Iowa Insurance Pool Board Rethinking Costly Out-of-State Meetings
• Broker Gallagher Loses $12.8M Poaching Lawsuit in London Against Ardonagh
• Sompo Global Risk Solutions Expands Mexico Capabilities, Hires Macias Romo
• Washington Fines Gun Insurance Company $100K for Illegal Policy Plans
• Montana Medical Clinic Cyberattack Compromises Data of 130K Patients
• California Braces for Biggest Blackout Yet as Massive Wildfire Burns
• Pennsylvania Company Fined After Worker’s Fatal Fall into Meat Grinder
• AXA to Sell Belgian Bank Unit to Crelan for $689.5M, Forms Bancassurance Deal
• EverQuote Hires Shankaran as Executive Vice President of Commercial Insurance
• Connecticut’s Smith Brothers Insurance Hires Wohlers
• Massachusetts Sues Exxon for Misleading Investors, Consumers About Climate Change
• Reinsurance Fraud Triggers Stock Plunge in Lehman-Founded Hungarian Insurer
• Arthur J. Gallagher Finalizes Purchase of Stake in India Broker Edelweiss
• Ping An Q3 Profit Jumps 50% on Higher Investment Returns, Bank Income
• Insurtech Funding Reaches $4.4 Billion to Date in 2019, Blowing Past Full-Year 2018
• Regulator Orders Further Decrease to Proposed Florida Workers’ Comp Rates
• Profit Lessons in Commercial Auto, Workers Comp and Other Business
• How Exxon’s Climate Change Trial Ended Up Being About Numbers
• A.M. Best Won’t Publish Its Carrier Innovation Scores At First
• Direct Connection in California Names Nevins Marketing & Operations Director
• Sompo International Adds Email Security Review Services to Cyber Policies
• NTSB Blames Miami Bridge Collapse on Design Errors, Lack of Oversight
• Georgia City Imposes Moratorium on New Vape Shops
• Alabama-Based CNC Hires Kattermann as SVP of Claims Operations
• New Mexico Explains Role in Enabling Applied Underwriters Sale
• IBHS Chief Continues to Ask Congress to Embrace Tax Credits for Climate Resilience
• Meyer Named Interim Executive Director at Texas Surplus Lines Stamping Office
• Oklahoma County to Pay $12.5M to Settle Suit Over Inmate Death
• 9 Tornadoes Confirmed in North Texas Outbreak; Insured Losses Pegged at $2B
• McNeil & Co. Acquires Bonding & Insurance Specialists Agency in Illinois
• 500K-Plus Californians Lose Power; Large Wildfire Rages
• Washington Tornado Uprooted Trees, Sending Them into Homes
• Woman Sues Oregon Clinic Claiming of Past Abuse by Pediatrician
• Several States Have Doubts About $48 Billion Opioid Settlement Offer
• Newfront Taps Brown from Uber as Chief Operating Officer
• Bookkeeper for New Jersey Company Admits Stealing $1.7M in Check Fraud Scheme
• Ex-Maryland Lawyer Gets Probation for Role in Insurance Scam
• Saxe Doernberger & Vita Hires Manobianca as Of Counsel in Northeast Office
• Specialist Insurer Beazley Takes 30% Stake in Hong Kong Coverholder Pegasus
• Massachusetts’ Risk Strategies Appoints Dubraski as Chief Growth Officer
• London Financial Firms at Risk of Being Cut Off from EU After Brexit: Official
• Brokerslink Network Appoints Ghazaleh as Middle East Regional Manager
• Start-Up Constellation Holdings Has $500M from Canadian Investors to Invest in Insurers
• China’s Ping An Insurance to Spend $22B on Tech, From AI to Blockchain
• Reinsurers Maintain Upward Pricing Momentum-But Will It Last?
• Sheriff Says Midwest Crop Thefts Are a ‘Major League Operation’
• Puckett Joins Alliant Insurance Services as VP in Chicago
• Google Denies Claims It Developed Tool to Spy on Its Employees
• Employers Taking Proactive Health Steps to Prevent Costly Employee Injuries
• Ex-DuPont CEO Claims No Intent to Burden Chemours with Unlimited Liabilities
• Insurance Agency BRP Group’s IPO Starts Today at $14 a Share
• Florida Specialty CEO Disputes State Regulator’s Claims, Says Insurer Not Insolvent
• Georgia Wants Medical Sterilization Facility Closed Over High Carcinogen Emissions
• Applied Underwriters Responds to California Department of Insurance Effort to Halt Sale
• Ohio Roofing Contractor Faces $247.5K in Fines for Workplace Fall Hazards
• Kansas Farmer Pleads Guilty to Nearly $500K in Crop Insurance Fraud
• Texas Man Convicted of $1.7M Arson, Insurance Fraud Scheme
• North Dakota Governor Declares Statewide Flood Emergency
• Texas Dentist Office Settles Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Case for $20K
• Texas Voters to Decide on Proposition to Create Fund for Flood Prevention, Recovery
• Marketing, Innovation Chief Williams Leaving Nationwide; Jones, Mahaffey to Assume Roles
• Family of Alabama Student Awarded $9M in Wrongful Death, Med Mal Suit
• North Carolina Fines Utility, Subcontractors in Deadly Gas Explosion
• Last Chance to Participate in Insurance Journal’s Agency E&O Survey
• After 100 Years in Business, JGS Insurance Has Learned to Embrace Change
• Reinsurers’ Earnings to Be Hit After 3rd Year of Major Claims: AM Best
• PG&E’s Latest Planned Power Cutoffs Could Impact Thousands of Californians
• Newer Cars with Safety Features Cited for Reduction in Highway Crash Deaths
• Supreme Court Allows City, State Claims Against Energy Firms Over Climate Costs
• Ban on Vaping Product Sales in Massachusetts Allowed to Stand
• It’s Not Just Factories Turning to Automation to Stem Wage Growth, Boost Earnings
• Massachusetts’ Tremor Appoints Ginter as Vice President of Sales
• Velocity Risk Underwriters Expands Coverage to Coastal Homeowners in New Jersey
• EU Eyes Another Brexit Delay as U.K. Edges Toward Election to Break Impasse
• U.K. Repelled 658 Cyber Attacks This Year, Many From Hostile Foreign States
• Massive Fire Breaks Out at N. Zealand Convention Center Building Site
• Harden Adds Mershon to South Florida Employee Benefits Team
• Aon Appoints Moran to Create Consistent Approach to Client Engagement
• J.M. Wilson Promotes O’Leary to Director, Training & Strategic Quality
• Tesla’s Futuristic Door Handles Blamed for Death in Crash
• Burnham Risk in California Names Owens Chief Operating Officer
• Exxon, New York AG Face Off Over Climate Change Accounting
• Risk Strategies to Offer Cyber Risk Management Platform Underwritten by Berkley
• Georgia County Ransomware Attack Highlights Cyber Exposures to Local Agencies
• California Insurance Agent Arrested for Identity Theft And Forgery
• Insurance Office of America Adds Johnson to Western Region Team
• Ohio Janitorial Service to Pay $315K to Settle Federal Discrimination Charges
• Flatt Joins Higginbotham as EVP; Will Open Midland Office
• Indiana’s Methodist Hospital System Warning Patients About Data Breach
• Iowa’s GuideOne Insurance Names Groenheide Senior VP, Specialty
• Sheeran Promoted to President of Michigan’s Meadowbrook Insurance Agency
• Insured Losses from Japan’s Typhoon Hagibis Estimated at $8B-$16B: AIR
• Ex-Salon Chief Suing Wynn Resorts for Spying on Him
• Vape Pioneer Whose Product Sickened Dozens Started in Southern California
• Row Home Explosion Sparks Fire That Spreads to Nine Other Homes in Pennsylvania
• Conway Scenic Railroad Train Strikes Woman on Tracks
• Erie Indemnity Company Appoints Bolash as Senior VP, General Counsel
• Companies in Polluting Industries Slow to Disclose Climate Change Risks: Moody’s
• Now Boarding for Brexit: What Businesses Need to Do
• W. R. Berkley Corporation Appoints LeBlanc as President of Acadia Insurance
• Travelers Q3 Profit Falls on Asbestos, Commercial Liability and Auto Claims
• Exxon Faces Trial Over Claim It Misled Investors About Climate Change Risks
• B3i’s Blockchain Re/Insurance Network Begins to Offer Real-Life Industry Solutions
• Fidelis Taps Bellamy from Pembroke’s Acapella Syndicate for Reinsurance Team
• Florida to Seek $633M in Federal Disaster Prevention Funds
• 2 Unstable Cranes Felled at Site of Collapsed Hotel in New Orleans
• North Carolina Health System Alerts Customers to Data Breach
• Reinsurers Look at Cyber’s Massive Growth Possibilities-With Caution
• OSHA’s Top 25 Enforcement Cases Based on Total Penalty
• After Avoiding Ohio Trial, Drug Firms Turn to Local Government Opioid Lawsuits
• UPS Drone Service to Deliver CVS Health Prescriptions to Homes
• Olsovsky Joins Insurance Office Of America’s Southwest Florida Region
• Chubb Upgrades Cyber Index, Adds International Data
• 3 Twisters Confirmed in North Texas; Governor Issues Disaster Declaration
• Settling Opioid Suits Probably Won’t End the Crisis: Viewpoint
• California Roofer Arrested For Workers’ Comp Fraud, $50K Loss to Insurer
• California Workers’ Comp Institute Summarizes 2019 Legislation
• California Balks at Applied Underwriters Sale, Questions Subsidiary’s Move to New Mexico
• No Fatalities Reported After Dallas Hit by Tornado
• 4th Person Dies from North Carolina Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak
• Tropical Storm Nestor Spawns Tornadoes in Florida Gulf but Spares Panhandle
• Texas Firms Say Too Many Low-Skill Workers Are Failing Drug Tests
• County in Washington Files Lawsuit Against JUUL
• Small Earthquake Confirmed Off Southern Oregon Coast
• California Threatened by More Blackouts With Wind Gusts
• Update on Opioid Lawsuits Against Drugmakers, Distributors
• Financial, Legal Advisors Scamming Elderly Has Become Big Business
• Plymouth Rock Assurance Finalizes Acquisition of New Jersey’s Rider Insurance
• Philadelphia Bookkeeper Sentenced for Embezzling Nearly $1.6M from Employer
• Dam Collapse in Siberia Kills At Least 15 Gold Miners
• Brothers Charged with Starting Philadelphia Blaze to Collect Insurance Money
• CRESTA Updates Risk Accumulation Zones for 2019, Launches Website
• Four Drugmakers Reach $260M Settlement, Ending Opioid Trial Set to Start Today
• Russia Aims to Boost Arctic Shipping by Subsidizing Higher Costs, Including Insurance
• BHSI Enters Australia Surety Market, Hiring Griffiths from Liberty Specialty to Lead Team
• Few Hong Kong Firms Have Riot Insurance so They’ll Be Paying for Protest Damages
• Ratings of Members of Kansas Medical Mutual Group Downgraded
• IBHS Survey Highlights Building Code Gaps in Texas Coastal Counties
• Wisconsin Prescription Drug Step Therapy Law Goes into Effect Nov. 1
• Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Consumer Protection Bureau’s Structure
• FTC’s Chopra Tells House Antitrust Panel Big Tech’s Data Practices Threaten Competition
• States Vary Widely in How They Control Workers’ Comp Medical Costs: WCRI
• Florida Attorney General Launches Investigation of Vaping Companies
• J&J Recalls Some Baby Powder After FDA Reports Traces of Asbestos
• 26 Insurers Extend Time for 2017 California Wildfire Victims for Living Expenses
• Venture Insurance Programs Creates Small Business Online Platform
• National Hurricane Center Issues Tropical Storm Warning Along Gulf Coast
• Officials: Nearly Half of all Texas Traffic Deaths Occur in Energy-Producing Areas
• Feds Say Retailer Broke Law by Selling Rifle Used in Texas Church Attack
• Contractor: Ensuring Security of Des Moines, Iowa, Skywalk a Tough Job
• Iowa School District Settles 3rd Firing-Related Lawsuit for $1M
• The Insurance House in Illinois Adds Mayer, Reising as Producers
• Agency E&O Survey: Deadline to Participate Approaching
• Munich Re America Taps AXA XL’s Herrera for New Diversity and Inclusion Post
• U.S. to Update Crash Test Standards and Dummies
• New Mexico Men Accused in Arson, Insurance Fraud Case
• On-Demand Insurance to Play Major Role in Industry’s Future: IUA Research
• Three PG&E Executives Decide When Californian Residents Go Dark to Stop Fires
• PG&E Noteholders, California Wildfire Victims File Formal Reorganization Plan
• Guy Carpenter Names Samengo-Turner as Global Facultative Leader
• Prosecutor Says Repair Shop Billing Not to Blame for New York Limo Crash

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