National News

As Trial Opens, FTX’s Bankman-Fried Battles Excess Insurer Over D&O Coverage

Just two days before his criminal trial started this week in federal court in New York, FTX Trading founder Sam Bankman-Fried filed suit in federal court in California against his excess insurance company seeking payment of legal costs. The suit …

Farmers, USAA Lead Pack in Hiking Homeowners Insurance Rates in 2023: S&P

Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. and United Services Automobile Association (USAA) have increased homeowners insurance rates by nearly 15% each to lead all other insurers. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence‘s RateWatch application, Farmers’ year-to-date calculated effective rate change on …

Elon Musk Must Face Fraud Lawsuit for Disclosing Twitter Stake Late

Elon Musk was ordered by a U.S. judge to face most of a lawsuit claiming he defrauded former Twitter shareholders last year by waiting too long to disclose that he had invested in the social media company, which he later …

Selective Insurance CFO Wilcox Resigns; Harnett Named Interim

Selective Insurance Group said its chief financial officer, Mark Wilcox, has resigned to hold the same position elsewhere. Wilcox, also executive vice president, will leave Nov. 3. He will continue in the CFO role until Selective reports third quarter earnings, …

People Moves: Talkowski to Lead Nationwide Middle Market Commercial Lines Team; Showalter New Head of Client Experience at Hub Private Client

Nationwide has hired Kristina Talkowski from CNA to head up its middle market commercial lines business. Starting Oct. 16, she will be tasked with executing Nationwide’s long-term commercial lines insurance strategy for mid-sized businesses. Talkowski has 20 years of insurance …

NHTSA Expands Probe Into Ford Engine Failures to Include Nearly 709,000 Vehicles

U.S. auto safety investigators have expanded a probe into Ford Motor Co. engine failures to include nearly 709,000 vehicles. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also said in documents posted Monday on its website that it upgraded the investigation to …

Commercial Auto Up Against Persistent Headwinds to Underwriting Profit

Underwriting losses in U.S. commercial auto have returned to pre-pandemic levels and rate increases have not been enough to keep up with severity trends. “The liability component has been more problematic than the physical damage component, which is no surprise …

AstraZeneca to Pay $425 Million to End US Lawsuits Over Heartburn Drugs

Britain’s AstraZeneca has agreed to pay $425 million to settle about 11,000 lawsuits in the United States that claimed its heartburn drugs Nexium and Prilosec caused chronic kidney disease. AstraZeneca did not admit wrongdoing under the settlement, part of broader …

Court Tosses $223.8M Verdict Against J&J in Talc Cancer Case

A New Jersey appeals court on Oct. 3 threw out a $223.8 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson that a jury had awarded to four plaintiffs who claimed they developed cancer from being exposed to asbestos in the company’s talc …

Independent Agents Are Shopping Premiums Despite Record High Carrier Satisfaction

Independent insurance agents report unprecedented satisfaction with their carrier partners, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t keeping their options open due to the rising cost of premiums. According to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Independent Agent Satisfaction Study, overall agent …

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