Monthly Archives: <span>August 2015</span>

North Carolina Looks at Regulating Zip Lines

As 12-year-old Bonnie Sanders Burney soared over a 40-foot ravine at her sleep-away camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the tether attaching her to a dual zip line snapped – plunging her to her death. Her tether had been mistakenly …

Authorities on Alert After South Georgia Church Break-Ins

Law officers are searching for suspects who burglarized two Georgia churches. WTOC-TV reports that the break-ins are believed to have happened August 22 at Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Alston and Tabernacle of Deliverance in Vidalia. The Savannah station reports …

Florida Governor Orders Random Audits of 100-Plus Hospitals

Florida Gov. Rick Scott is ordering state health officials to audit more than 100 hospitals as part of his ongoing battle with hospitals, which he says are driving up Medicaid costs. The state had asked hospitals and insurers to prove …

European Re/Insurers Well Positioned to Withstand Market Volatility: A.M. Best

European re/insurers are well positioned to withstand the current volatility in the stock markets, having made significant changes to their investment portfolios since the global financial crisis of 2008, as well as the subsequent European sovereign debt crisis in late …

RMS and Taiwan’s MSIG Mingtai Collaborate on Typhoon Risk Insights

RMS, the Newark, Calif.-based catastrophe risk management firm, has formed a technical collaboration with MSIG Mingtai Insurance Co. Ltd. to share industry information and insight about the local Taiwanese insurance market, as RMS develops a typhoon model for Taiwan. The …

$198M in Property at High Risk from Chelan Wildfire in Washington

The massive Chelan wildfire in Washington poses a significant risk to roughly 634 homes with a total reconstruction cost of more than $198 million, an analysis of the ongoing fire issued Wednesday shows. The analysis by property information and data …

Insurers Paid $12.9M in Claims Stemming From Baltimore Riot

The Maryland Insurance Administration says insurance companies have paid $12.9 million in claims stemming from civil unrest in Baltimore linked to the death in April of Freddie Gray. The agency said Tuesday that the payments include $11.6 million for commercial …

Citizens: Water Losses the Reason for Rate Increases in South Florida

In a nearly three-hour rate hearing on August 25, representatives from Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. delved into and defended their recent rate filing, which included significant increases in many Florida regions, before the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR). …

Aon Risk Solutions Hires Surette as Resident Managing Director in Boston

Aon Risk Solutions, the global risk management business of Aon plc, hired Joe Surette as resident managing director of Boston operations. Surette succeeds Peter Caine, who left Aon in May to become chief operating officer of Lockton’s St. Louis operations. …

Maine Issues Bulletin Prohibiting Use of Price Optimization

Maine Insurance Superintendent Eric A. Cioppa stated in a bulletin published Monday that in Maine, personal lines property/casualty insurers that use price optimization should submit revised rate filings removing such factors within 60 days after the date of the bulletin. …