National News

Berkshire Unit Added to Lawsuit Over Inflated Real Estate Commissions

A unit of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway was added on Monday to a lawsuit accusing the National Association of Realtors and several brokerages of conspiring to keep real estate commissions artificially high nationwide. The complaint filed in a Kansas City, …

Former Twitter Execs Sue Elon Musk for Over $128M in Severance

Four former top Twitter executives, including former CEO Parag Agrawal, have sued Elon Musk for over $128 million in combined unpaid severance, according to a lawsuit filed on Monday. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco, is the …

Hacker Forum: UnitedHealth Paid $22M Ransom in Bid to Recover Data

A post on a hacker forum popular with cybercriminals has claimed UnitedHealth Group paid $22 million in a bid to recover access to data and systems encrypted by the “Blackcat” ransomware gang, according to two researchers. Neither UnitedHealth nor the …

JetBlue, Spirit Airlines Call Off $3.8B Merger on Antitrust Hurdle

Low-cost air carriers JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines canceled their $3.8-billion merger agreement on Monday, seeing no path forward after a U.S. judge blocked the deal in January on anti-competition concerns. A successful deal would have created the fifth-largest carrier …

New Survey Reveals How Independent Agents Are Adapting to the Hard Market

The hard market has independent agents “going the extra mile” to prioritize client communication, retention, technology and team morale. Trusted Choice, the national consumer brand representing the members of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big I), …

Skeptical AM Best Tags US D&O Segment With Negative Outlook

Rating agency AM Best has assigned a negative outlook to the U.S. directors and officers liability insurance segment as more market entrants increase capacity and drive down pricing in the face of some troubling potential risk exposures. “The current pricing …

25 Straight Quarters of Premium Increases for Commercial Lines: CIAB Survey

Overall commercial property/casualty premiums increased slightly for all account sizes to 7% on average in the fourth quarter 2023, continuing a trend that has now last more than 6 years. According to The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers’ Q4 …

US Judge Says Google Must Face Some Advertisers’ Antitrust Claims, Dismisses Others

Alphabet’s Google must face advertisers’ proposed class action lawsuit claiming that it monopolizes the ad exchange market, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday. But U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel dismissed some other antitrust claims, including those focused on ad-buying tools …

AI Firms Face Growing List of Lawsuits. Here’s What to Watch

Artificial intelligence firms are facing increasing pressure from some of the world’s most formidable names in technology and media, as new tools spark fresh questions over the risks posed by chatbots that threaten to rival human intelligence. Elon Musk became …

Spike in Recent Ratings Downgrades Shows Challenges for US Insurers

Negative ratings actions and financial challenges are forcing carriers to explore reinsurance options offering needed capital, according to a report released last month by Gallagher Re’s Strategic and Financial Analytics team. Downgrades of U.S. property/casualty (re)insurers jumped significantly in the …

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