National News

Viewpoint: Get Ready Now for the Soft Market (Because It’s Coming)

Executive summary: Tony Buckle and John Carolin, co-founders of the boutique insurance consultancy UWX, analyze underwriter motivation during the soft phase of the market cycle. While average market prices are the hardest seen in years, some price softening has begun …

Q3 Net Income Up 45.7% at W.R. Berkley as it Handles Unabated ‘Burn’ of Social Inflation

Third quarter net income at W.R. Berkley Corp. increased nearly 46% compared to the same period last year to about $334 million. The Greenwich, Connecticut-based insurer’s consolidated combined ratio for the quarter improved to 90.2 from 92.1 a year ago …

American Family Shuts Down Some Systems to Investigate ‘Unusual Activity’

American Family Insurance shut down “several business systems” after the insurer said it “detected unusual activity in a portion of its network.” In an email to Insurance Journal, the Madison, Wisconsin-based insurer said its technology teams discovered the activity last …

Report: Young Driver Fatality Rates in the US Have Fallen Sharply

Crash and fatality rates among drivers under 21 have fallen dramatically in the U.S. during the past 20 years, a new report says, while noting young drivers are still the riskiest group behind the wheel. Using data from 2002-2021, a …

US Justice Department Issues Subpoenas to Tesla in Ongoing Probes

The U.S. Justice Department has sought documents and issued subpoenas to Tesla as it scrutinizes the automaker’s driver assistance system Autopilot and vehicle driving range, among other issues, the company said on Monday. Tesla said in a regulatory filing it …

Report: ‘Climate-Exacerbated Wildfires’ Cost U.S. $394B-$893B Each Year

“Climate-exacerbated wildfires” cost the nation $394 billion to $893 billion each year in economic costs and damages, according to a Congressional report out this week. The range combines estimates from existing research on property damage, deaths and injuries, health impacts …

Companies Grapple With the Fallout of Speaking Up About the Israel-Hamas War

Starbucks accused a union representing thousands of its baristas of damaging the brand and endangering co-workers with a pro-Palestinian tweet. The CEO of a prominent tech conference resigned amid backlash for his public statements suggesting that Israel was committing war …

Inflation, Commercial Real Estate Among Top Financial Stability Concerns

The chance for persistent inflation to keep interest rates higher and potential losses in the commercial real estate market are among the top concerns of respondents to a Federal Reserve survey on financial stability, the U.S. central bank said on …

Software Firm Okta Discloses Cyber Breach

Okta on Oct. 20 disclosed a breach of its customer support system that allowed some hackers to view files uploaded by certain clients, pushing the software company’s shares down about 12%. “Okta security has identified adversarial activity that leveraged access …

Communities Can’t Recycle or Trash E-Cigarettes. So What Happens to Them?

With the growing popularity of disposable e-cigarettes, communities across the U.S. are confronting a new vaping problem: how to safely get rid of millions of small, battery-powered devices that are considered hazardous waste. For years, the debate surrounding vaping largely …

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