Monthly Archives: <span>February 2020</span>

Viewpoint: 4 Things Insurance Firms Can Do to Improve Efficiency, Data Use

Digital transformation is making it possible for the insurance industry to engage customers with personalized interactions that lead to products and services tailored to their individual insurance needs. Unfortunately, the industry isn’t exactly made up of a bunch of early …

OSHA Fines Companies After 2 Killed at Oregon Festival

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined two companies for safety violations that led to the deaths of two workers at a Portland, Ore., area music festival. OSHA issued $31,000 in fines to Pickathon LLC and GuildWorks LLC …

Insurers Finding It Increasingly Difficult to Fill Vacant Positions

Most insurance companies plan to either maintain current staffing or add new employees over the next 12 months, The Jacobson Group and Aon have found. At the same time, their new Semi-Annual U.S. Insurance Labor Outlook Study determined that companies …

Oregon Bar Sued for $2.1M for Over-Serving Man Who Killed 2

The estate of a man who was killed in a drunken driving crash in 2017 and a crash victim who survived are suing the Prineville, Ore., bar that over-served driver Justin Bittick. The estate of Stephan Mitchell Leader-Bowles filed suit …

Arizona Flood Control Project Receives Federal Funding

Flagstaff, Ariz.’s mayor hailed a federal agency’s commitment of $52 million for a major flood control project, saying it will protect the northern Arizona city from potentially catastrophic effects of flooding from storm runoff while promoting economic development of currently …

World Bank Pandemic Bond Losing Value, Facing Criticism as Coronavirus Spreads

A World Bank bond designed to deliver funding to help the world’s poorest countries to tackle fast-spreading diseases has lost half its value as the coronavirus outbreak in China has fanned fears that investors could face hefty losses. After the …

United Fire in Iowa Reports 4Q Earnings Loss

United Fire Group Inc. on Tuesday reported a loss of $23.2 million in its fourth quarter. On a per-share basis, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based company said it had a loss of 93 cents. Losses, adjusted for investment gains, were $1.04 …

Salvage Firm Wants Judge to Halt Removal of Capsized Cargo Ship in Georgia

A maritime salvage company is asking a federal judge to stop the Coast Guard and a rival firm from carrying out their plans to remove a cargo ship that overturned five months ago on the Georgia coast. The multiagency team …

Soggy Neighborhoods Under Flash-Flood Warning in Mississippi

Forecasters expected more heavy rains in parts of the flood-ravaged South on Tuesday, prolonging the misery in neighborhoods surrounded by water. Some of the hardest-hit areas were under a flash flood watch, as the National Weather Service said as much …

4Q Earnings Briefs: Trupanion, United Fire, FNF

Trupanion Trupanion Inc. (TRUP) reported fourth-quarter net income of $636,000, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The Seattle-based company said it had profit of 2 cents per share. The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The …