Month: January 2016

New York City’s ports, the busiest on the East Coast, ground to halt after longshoremen walked off the job Friday in an unspecified labor dispute.
Source: Property Casualty 360

Tompkins Financial Corporation, a financial services company headquartered in Ithaca, New York, announced that its insurance agency subsidiary, Tompkins Insurance Agencies Inc., has acquired Shepard, Maxwell & Hale Insurance in upstate New York. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. …
Source: Insurance Journal

News from Willis Towers, Applied Client, XL Catlin and more.
Source: Property Casualty 360

Last weekend’s brutal snowstorm pummeled Maryland from the Atlantic coast to the West Virginia border, costing government agencies much more than the minimum requirement for a federal disaster declaration, the state’s emergency management chief said. The state aims to submit …
Source: Insurance Journal

One of the more controversial social and political issues affecting the country is the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana. A Gallup Poll released in October 2015 shows 58 percent of American adults think that marijuana should be legal¸ up from 51 percent a year ago. The U.S. market for legal cannabis grew 74 percent in 2014 to $2.7 billion¸ up from $1.5 billion in 2013. Public perception of the medicinal and recreational use of the drug has changed over the last decade as 23 states and the District of Columbia have now approved the lawful use of marijuana for certain medical purposes¸ either by statute or ballot measure.
Source: The Claims Page – USA

An investigation into what is being billed as one of the largest workers’ compensation insurance fraud schemes uncovered in the county’s history has swept up additional medical professionals throughout Southern California. Chiropractors¸ a radiologist¸ a pain management physician¸ a medical equipment provider and others are accused in 13 new indictments of playing varying roles in a bribery scheme that bought and sold patients like commodities¸ the District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Source: The Claims Page – USA

Legislation filed by a lawmaker in Oklahoma would increase school safety by requiring the use of hazard lights in school zones. According to the Transportation Research Board, more than 100 children are killed and nearly 25,000 injured every year while …
Source: Insurance Journal

Dozens of Texas plants similar to a fertilizer facility that exploded in the town of West in 2013, one of Texas’ worst industrial accidents, are still operating near schools, hospitals and residential neighborhoods, federal regulators say. A report released by …
Source: Insurance Journal

Most sellers blame pricing, products or clueless decision makers. But what if you were brutally honest with yourself?
Source: Property Casualty 360

How should insurers capitalize on the smart home trend?
Source: Property Casualty 360

Hijacking “smart” toasters and refrigerators and hacking corporate ventilation systems are among the new threats envisioned by cyber security experts as an increasing array of items are connected to the internet. The Internet of Things, a movement that seeks to …
Source: Insurance Journal

Missouri insurance regulators say the application deadline for Missouri Insurance Education Foundation (MIEF) scholarships is March 31. High school seniors and college students, who are Missouri residents may apply for the scholarships, according to the Missouri Department of Insurance. Four $1,500 scholarships …
Source: Insurance Journal

California regulators say self-driving automobiles aren’t smart enough yet to zip around town without a driver ready to take the wheel.
Source: Property Casualty 360

General Motors Co. and two car dealers settled U.S. claims that they touted rigorous inspection of used cars, yet were selling vehicles that had been subject to safety recalls and hadn’t been repaired.
Source: Property Casualty 360

An investigation into what’s being called one of the largest cases of workers’ compensation health care insurance fraud in California Department of Insurance history led to 13 indictments announced today against seven Southern California-based medical professionals. This is the second …
Source: Insurance Journal

Driverless microbuses started serving the college town of Wageningen, Netherlands, in the first open-ended test in Europe of automated public transport on city streets.
Source: Property Casualty 360

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that he personally apologized after calling a New Jersey shore official a “crazy mayor” and forcefully rebutted critics who suggested the state hasn’t done enough to help residents dealing with the aftermath of …
Source: Insurance Journal

What will the insurance industry be like in 15 years? The future will arrive whether the industry is ready or not. And while even so-called experts are no better than the average person in predicting it, what’s most important about …
Source: Insurance Journal

Consumers will soon be able to simplify the buying of auto insurance by snapping a photo of their license plate and texting it to the new site, Insurify.com, which will then generate price quotes. The license plate photo triggers the …
Source: Insurance Journal

Insurers offer solutions to address factors — such as El Niño and legalized marijuana — that are driving claims.
Source: Property Casualty 360