National News

Microsoft Tools Ease Access to Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence for Businesses

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday announced new tools for software makers aimed at making technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain easier for businesses to use. Microsoft released the tools ahead of its software developer conference next week in Seattle. Once …

Puerto Rico Oversight Board Sues Banks, Bondholders in Bid to Recoup $1 Billion

Puerto Rico’s federally created financial oversight board said on Thursday it sued some owners of potentially invalid bonds of the bankrupt U.S. commonwealth, as well as Wall Street banks and firms that participated in various debt issuances in an effort …

Jury Finds Insys Founder, Execs Guilty of Racketeering in Opioid Sales

Insys Therapeutics Inc. founder John Kapoor was convicted of a racketeering conspiracy that drove sales of a highly addictive opioid while contributing to a nationwide epidemic. Federal jurors in Boston found that Kapoor conspired with four other executives to bribe …

U.S. Eases Offshore Drilling Rules Adopted After Gulf Oil Spill

The Trump administration unveiled on Thursday its final plan to roll back offshore drilling safety measures put in place by the Obama administration after the fatal 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the worst in U.S. history, raising concerns by …

House Passes Climate Now Act, But What’s The Next Step?

The U.S. must take an active role in mitigating climate change on the global stage. So says the U.S. House of Representatives, which voted today on H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act. The bill, which passed 231-190, largely along …

Future Focused? Research Finds Agents Split on Succession

Is succession planning a priority for independent agencies? How prepared are they for transition of ownership? The latest Channel Harvest Research survey, “Agent Voices 2019,” reveals nearly half of agency principals do not anticipate changing ownership, while the other half …

Chubb’s Q1 Net Income Dips Slightly but Commercial Insurance Produces Gains

Chubb saw its net income dip slightly in the 2019 first quarter, though commercial and other insurance premiums rose at a healthy clip. The insurance giant’s property/casualty combined ratio also improved, and catastrophe losses dropped. “Chubb had a very good …

Tesla Sued over Fatal Crash Allegedly Caused by Autopilot Malfunction

Tesla Inc. was sued over a fatal crash on a California highway allegedly caused when the Autopilot system of a 2017 Model X malfunctioned and steered the car into a concrete barrier. The case was filed just two days after …

Insurance Broking Veterans, Led by McGill, Form Specialty Broker, McGill & Partners

Insurance broking veteran Steve McGill and a team of insurance industry veterans have partnered with Warburg Pincus, a global private equity firm, to launch McGill & Partners, a new specialty risk solutions business. The broker will focus on strategic risk …

Markel Subsidiary State National to Provide Fronting for Tesla’s New Insurance Venture

Elon Musk’s Tesla plans to launch its own insurance product for Tesla drivers, which will be fronted by Markel Corp.’s subsidiary, State National. Markel’s Co-Chief Executive Officer Richard R. Whitt confirmed the partnership during the company’s first quarter earnings call …

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