National News

Flood Insurance Lapse Avoided But Longer Term Extension Still Uncertain

The House and the Senate have approved a seven-day extension of the federal flood insurance program that keeps the program from lapsing Friday. That short extension will take the program to Dec. 7, the day by which Congress must pass …

Survey from Regulator of Largest U.S. Insurance Market Shows More Coal Divestment by Insurers

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Thursday revealed he’s had some success with his 2018 Climate Risk Carbon Initiative Coal Divestment Follow-Up Survey. Jones said the results of the survey reflect an increase in the number of insurers that divested …

Starr Insurance to Offer Ski, Snowboard Rescue & Evacuation Insurance

Starr Insurance Companies has formed an agreement with Safe Descents, Inc. to provide the an insurance program for rescue and evacuation for skiers and snowboarders in the United States. The policy, underwritten by Starr Indemnity & Liability Co. and sold …

Hub International Reports Minority Investment by Canada’s Altas

Chicago-based global insurance broker Hub International Limited said it has received a “substantial minority investment” from funds managed by Altas Partners, an investment firm based in Toronto. Funds managed by Hellman & Friedman (H&F) remain the largest investor in Hub …

Senators Encouraged by Talks on Farm Bill

U.S. lawmakers are very close to reaching a consensus in days on the Farm Bill, two senior senators said on Wednesday, after months of bitter partisan debate over the legislation to fund $867 billion in food and agriculture programs. “We …

Applied Systems Among Firms Layering Loans to Pay Equity Owners

First the companies tapped the loan market. Not long after that, they came back for more. Corporations like Bausch Health Cos., a drugmaker, telecom provider Sprint Corp. and Applied Systems Inc., an insurance software provider, borrowed again this month after …

FDA Vows Overhaul of Medical Device Approval System

U.S. health officials said this week they plan to overhaul the nation’s decades-old system for approving most medical devices, which has long been criticized by experts for failing to catch problems with risky implants and medical instruments. The Food and …

What Insurers Want and Get from Insurtech Partnerships

Remember the scene in the 1989 movie When Harry Met Sally? During lunch with Harry at a deli, Sally very publicly fakes a wild orgasm. A nearby patron, when asked what she’d like to order, signals in Sally’s direction and …

Puerto Rico Reforms Claims, Surplus Lines, Other Insurance Laws

The governor of Puerto Rico overhauled the U.S. territory’s insurance laws on Tuesday to help protect policyholders as thousands of claims remain unresolved more than a year after Hurricane Maria. Gov. Ricardo Rossello signed six laws into effect as he …

How Insurer Deployed Technology to Expedite Wildfire Claims

As wildfires raged this month in California, insurance claims experts at Travelers sat in a command center 3,000 miles (4,828 kilometers) away in Connecticut, monitoring screens showing satellite images, photos from airplane flyovers and social media posts describing what was …

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