National News

Wall Street Stock-Lending Platform Crashes in Ransomware Attack

The criminal hacking gang LockBit said it was behind a ransomware attack that shut down some of the operations of EquiLend, a financial-technology firm that processes trillions of dollars of securities-lending transactions every month. The company, partly owned by some …

Record Underwriting Income Highlights W.R. Berkley Q4 Results

Fourth quarter net income at W.R. Berkley Corp. increased 4% compared to the same period the prior year to about $397.3 million on record pretax underwriting income of nearly $316 million, an 8.2% increase. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based commercial insurer finished …

People Moves: Konchar, Mulcahy Named Regional VPs at Donegal; Ross Elected President The Insurance Library

Donegal Insurance Group, headquartered in Marietta, Penn., named two new regional vice presidents. Wes Konchar will lead Donegal’s Marietta region, comprised of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Maine and New Hampshire. A 15-year Donegal veteran, Konchar most recently served as Donegal’s regional …

Progressive Q4 Net Income Up 141% as Combined Ratio Exceeds Goal for 2023

Progressive Corp. today said fourth quarter 2023 net income jumped to nearly $2 billion compared to about $826 million a year ago during the same period. The Mayfield Village, Ohio-based insurer reported some quarterly and year results as it announced …

SEC to Impose Tougher Rules on Blank-Check Deals as SPACs Fizzle

Wall Street’s main regulator on Wednesday is set to demand more investor protections for deals involving special purpose acquisition companies, tightening rules on a once-popular pathway for taking firms public. After surging during the Covid-19 pandemic as an alternative to …

Markets/Coverages: MGA Sands Point Risk Launches With Transaction Liability Practice

Sands Point Risk, a new managing general agent to be led by the founder of transaction risk solutions at DUAL, has been launched to serve the transaction liability insurance (TLI) sector. Dennis Kearns, who founded the transaction risk program at …

US Insurers Optimistic, Open to Take More Investment Risk in 2024: Conning

Most U.S. insurers plan to take on more investment risk in 2024, and said the risks associated with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the investment process are outweighed by the potential benefits of the technology. According to results …

Compared to Prior Quarter, All Commercial Lines Saw Renewal Rate Up in Q4: Ivans

Ivans Index found the average premium renewal rate increased year-over year for all major commercial lines except workers’ compensation, but every line of business averaged rate increases at renewal during the last three months of 2023, compared to the prior …

Natural Disaster Protection Gap Returned to ‘Average Levels’ in 2023

Global insured losses from natural catastrophes totaled $118 billion in 2023, according to Aon’s annual Climate and Catastrophe Insight report. That number represented 31% of the total economic loss caused by 398 global natural disaster events. While 2022 saw the …

SEC Blames ‘SIM Swapping’ for its X Account Hack

Wall Street’s top regulator was the victim of “SIM swapping,” a technique internet fraudsters use to seize control of telephone lines, when its account on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, was hacked earlier this month, the …

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