Monthly Archives: <span>August 2024</span>

Insured Losses From UK Riots Will Be Manageable, With Claims Below £250M: Report

Insured losses from recent riots in the United Kingdom are expected to remain at manageable levels with a limited impact on insurers’ credit profiles, according to credit agency Morningstar DBRS, in a market commentary. The main reason for manageable claims …

Report: 10 of Top U.S. Metros at Moderate to Very High Risk of Wildfire Are in California

Ten of the top 15 metropolitan areas for wildfire risk concentration are in California, while more than 2.6 million homes across 14 states with a total reconstruction cost of $1.3 trillion are at moderate to very high risk of wildfire …

House Explosion in Maryland Kills 2 and Damages Nearby Homes

Two people were killed and 12 families displaced after a Maryland house exploded Sunday amid reports of a possible gas leak, fire officials said. Neighbors described feeling and hearing the early morning blast that damaged a number of surrounding houses …

Crimes Against Customers: Part 1 – Financial Crimes

This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. Insurance compliance is serious business. Falling out of compliance can have real consequences for everyone from insurance agencies, carriers, MGAs, and MGUs, to individual producers, adjusters, and dually licensed broker-dealers. …

Thailand Races to Stop Toxic Waste Cargo on MSC, Maersk Ships

Thai authorities are racing to stop about 100 shipping containers allegedly filled with hazardous industrial waste from Albania reaching the nation’s ports. Basel Action Network, a US-based nonprofit that tracks toxic trade which precarviously alerted Malaysia to illegal e-waste shipments, …

Tech Update: Hiscox Launches GenAI-Powered Lead Underwriting Platform

Hiscox, the global specialist insurer, has launched the London insurance market’s first lead underwriting platform enhanced by generative AI, aiming to provide sabotage and terrorism insurance quotes to customers faster and more efficiently than ever before. Initially developed as a …

UK Cyber Spies Plan AI ‘Lab’ to Counter Hostile State Threats

UK spies are stepping up efforts to tackle cyber and artificial intelligence threats from hostile foreign states, including the sort of online manipulation that helped foment rioting across the country in the past 10 days. GCHQ, the UK’s national security …

Swiss-Based Engineering Firm Schlatter Says IT Network Affected by Cyberattack

Schlatter Industries’ network was attacked with malware on Friday and it can be assumed this was a professional attack, the Switzerland-based company said on Monday. The group was hit on Friday by a cyberattack using malware, and the unknown perpetrators …

Sica Fletcher Index: Agency-Broker M&A Down Slightly in First Half 2024

The 22 acquirers that make up the Sica Fletcher Index were involved in 242 agent-broker deals in the first six months of 2024, totaling $635 million in revenue. That is a 45% drop in revenue from what was acquired during …

SEC Sues Over Alleged $650 Million Global Crypto Fraud

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday sued the cryptocurrency company NovaTech and its married co-founders, saying they fraudulently raised over $650 million from more than 200,000 investors worldwide, including many Haitian-Americans. NovaTech and co-founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion …