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Medicare Plan Annual Enrollment Period Begins Tuesday

What You Need to Know In some markets, agents and brokers are coping with big waves of plan withdrawals or shrinking benefits. Consumers appear to be weighing their plan options earlier in the period than usual. The future of Medicare is a top priority for voters, a survey finds. The annual enrollment period for Medicare Advantage plans and Medicare Part D prescription drug plans starts Tuesday and runs through Dec. 7. The question of the moment appears to be, “Is it really going to be that bad?” In some markets, agents and brokers are coping with big waves of plan withdrawals. In other markets, the main effect is shrinkage in extra dental and fitness center membership benefits. But the Google Trends tracker shows that recent search activity for the term “Medicare Advantage” has been very high. For Google, the all-time search activity peak for “Medicare Advantage” came during the week ending Oct. 21, 2023, when the annual enrollment period had already started and people were rushing to shop for coverage. Google gives “Medicare Advantage” search activity for that week a score of 100. The trend tracker tool rates activity for other weeks in terms of how they compare with the all-time peak week. For...

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Biden Sees Hurricane Milton Damage at $50B

Biden on Friday said the U.S. Coast Guard was leading efforts to reopen the port and he said work was underway to help restore power to communities hit by Milton. About 2.2 million customers are without power across the state of Florida, according to PowerOutage.us. Trump on Friday said that if elected he would provide a tax break for consumers who purchase a generator for their homes, allowing them to fully deduct the total cost for tax purposes. The break would be retroactive to Sept. 1, 2024 and be available until August 31, 2025, Trump said, announcing the proposal in a post on his Truth Social network and citing it as a step to help parts of the country prone to storms. Florida Trip The White House announced Biden’s plans to travel to Florida in a statement on Friday. It’s unclear if Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will meet with Biden during his visit Sunday, but when asked about the possibility, Biden said “if he’s available, yeah.” “He’s been very cooporative, we’ve gotten along very very well,” Biden said. DeSantis joined the president in 2022 when they surveyed the damage from another powerful storm, Hurricane Ian, and in 2021 after the Surfside building...

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BlackRock Enters New League With $450B in Alternative Assets

What You Need to Know The closing of the firm’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners adds $116 billion in assets to the firm. With the boost from GIP, BlackRock’s alternative assets tally now puts it closer to industry leaders like Blackstone, Apollo and KKR. BlackRock also is sitting on a $70 billion opportunity to grow in private credit if it flipped just 10% of its insurance clients’ money. BlackRock Inc. reaching $450 billion in alternative assets is putting a finer point on a case it has been making all year: it’s not just an ETF powerhouse. The closing of the firm’s $12.5 billion acquisition of Global Infrastructure Partners adds $116 billion in assets to the $334 billion that the firm managed at the end of September in real estate, private equity, hedge funds and illiquid infrastructure, as well as liquid credit funds. With the boost from GIP, BlackRock’s alternative assets tally now puts it closer to industry leaders like Blackstone Inc., Apollo Global Management Inc. and KKR & Co. BlackRock’s $375 billion in fee-paying alternative assets ranks above Carlyle Group Inc.’s $307 billion at the end of the second quarter. The four alternative investment firms have yet to...

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Wisconsin Recycling Company Fined $202K for Exposing Workers to Lead, Cadmium

Article 0 Comments A follow-up inspection by federal workplace safety investigators in April 2024 found a Janesville, Wisconsin recycling company continuing to expose employees to unsafe levels of lead and cadmium while they dismantled cathode ray tubes from older TVs, despite being cited for the same violations in April 2023. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration determined Universal Recycling Technologies LLC failed to implement adequate engineering controls and did not keep surfaces as free as practicable from lead and cadmium accumulations. “Chronic overexposures to these toxic metals may cause severe damage to blood-forming, nervous, urinary and reproductive systems,” said OSHA Area Director Chad Greenwood in Madison, Wisconsin. “Universal Recycling Technologies cannot solely rely on personal protective equipment as the primary source of protection. The company must focus on continuous improvement of engineering controls to reduce employee exposures to hazardous air contaminants.” OSHA cited the company for two repeat and six serious violations and one other-than-serious violation and proposed $202,820 in penalties. Based in Janesville, Universal Recycling Technologies LLC also operates facilities in Dover, New Hampshire; Clackamas, Oregon; and Fort Worth, Texas. The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply,...

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Inszone Acquires San Antonio Insurance Services

Article 0 Comments Inszone Insurance Services announced its acquisition of San Antonio Insurance Services, Texas-based agency known for its strong focus on trucking insurance and a broad array of property and casualty solutions. Founded in 2012 as a mother-daughter agency, San Antonio Insurance Services quickly established itself as a trusted provider of insurance services. In February 2015, Greg Stevens acquired the agency and continued its growth trajectory. Greg has been an industry veteran since 1985, joining the insurance industry after his time spent in accounting. In 2018, Greg’s son, Aaron Stevens, joined the family business, further strengthening the agency’s operations. Both Greg and Aaron Stevens will continue their leadership roles under Inszone Insurance Services, ensuring a seamless transition and continued commitment to their clients. Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Submit No Thanks Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. Interested in Mergers? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

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People Moves: Alliant Adds Moseley to Midwest Office

Article 0 Comments Kama Moseley, JD, PLCS, CAPI, has joined Alliant Insurance Services as Senior Vice President, Producer with Alliant Private Client. Alliant Private Client. Alliant said that Kansas-based Moseley will enhance the national brokerage’s presence in the Midwest. Moseley will help high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and other clients in protecting a diverse array of assets. This includes navigating the complexities of U.S. and international high-limit residential properties, fine art and collectibles, liability, personal aircraft, travel and crisis security, and more. Topics Alliant Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can do to improve this article. Submit No Thanks Thank you! % of people found this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. The most important insurance news,in your inbox every business day. Get the insurance industry’s trusted newsletter

Catastrophic events continue to pressure the Canadian insurance marketplace: Aon 0

Catastrophic events continue to pressure the Canadian insurance marketplace: Aon

Aon’s Fall 2024 Update Toronto, ON (Oct. 7, 2024) – Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm, has released its Fall 2024 Canadian Insurance Market Update. While a competitive atmosphere continues as insurers strive for market share, the significant catastrophe activity Canada has faced in 2024, along with other factors discussed in the report, may lead to a quicker-than-anticipated shift back to a more conservative stance characterized by stricter underwriting practices and a focused risk selection process. “The complexity and rapidly evolving nature of the Canadian Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance industry makes it extremely difficult to forecast future state. While historical market challenges like inflation and interest rate volatility are stabilizing and easing market conditions, catastrophic events continue to pressure the Canadian marketplace,” said Russell Quilley, Head of Commercial Risk and Chief Broking Officer for Canada at Aon. “As of September, 2024 is already the costliest year on record for insured catastrophe losses in Canada with estimated total losses in excess of $7.6 billion.” Other key findings include: Increased competition has moderately eased market conditions, but auto theft and increasing cost of repairs continues to erode insurer profits in the auto segment. Remediations to portfolios resulted in overall...

GUS Expands in Belleville with Paul’s Walls and Sons 0

GUS Expands in Belleville with Paul’s Walls and Sons

GUS expands its network of Property Restoration professionals with arrival of Paul’s Walls and Sons in Belleville Lévis, QC (Oct. 1, 2024) – GUS, Canada’s largest 100% Canadian-owned and operated group of property restoration professionals, is delighted to announce the addition of Paul’s Walls and Sons to its network. With a strong presence in the community of Belleville and its surrounding areas, this new addition strengthens GUS’ position in Ontario and reaffirms its commitment to providing quality post-disaster services to a growing number of Canadians. Paul’s Walls and Sons offers a comprehensive suite of solutions for policyholders, including 24/7 emergency response, water, fire, smoke, and wind damage restoration, as well as mold remediation. Founded in 1999 by Paul Adams, the company has since been passed down to the next generation and is now led by Mackenzie Cairns alongside his business partner Trevor Kay. With over 25 years of experience in renovation and construction, the Tarion-registered company has built a strong reputation for its exceptional attention to detail and quality of work. Paul’s Walls and Sons stands out for its commitment to integrity, the professionalism of its team, and its client-focused approach. Their mission to provide transparent and high-quality service has...

Hub International Announces Strategic Partnership With Mas Seguros To Expand Transportation Cross-Border Capabilities 0

Hub International Announces Strategic Partnership With Mas Seguros To Expand Transportation Cross-Border Capabilities

Partnership with the leading insurance broker in Mexico provides a complete and seamless insurance, risk and compliance supply chain solution for North American clients Chicago, IL (Oct. 1, 2024) – Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage and financial services firm, is pleased to announce an exclusive referral and broker program partnership throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico with MAS Seguros, the largest trucking insurance broker in Mexico. The partnership is a response to Mexico’s growing influence in the global economy and a reflection of HUB’s and MAS Seguros’ commitment to expanding its capabilities to better serve clients doing business throughout North America. Due to changing global political relationships and policies*, there has been a significant move for manufacturing operations to Mexico, which comes with increased risk and insurance challenges when transporting goods cross-border. Organizations face regulatory compliance issues, crime, product damage, catastrophic weather events and accidents. Additionally, more transportation firms from Mexico are moving to the U.S. As a result, there is an emerging transportation and logistics need to manage risk and insure freight, property and assets while transporting goods into Mexico for manufacturing and then back to the U.S. and Canada. “The changing landscape of Mexico’s economy,...

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Louisiana Contractor Charged for Allegedly Damaging Homeowners’ Roof

Article 0 Comments On an early August morning, a roofing contractor arrived at a Lafayette, Louisiana couple’s house and requested permission to inspect the home’s roof. The roofer’s arrival wasn’t unexpected. The couple, who go by Jordan and Sarah, had been approached days earlier by a neighbor whose own roof had recently been repaired. The neighbor asked Jordan and Sarah if they would like a discounted roof inspection by the same contractor who did the neighbor’s roof. The couple agreed, and within days, a contractor called to set up a time for an inspection. When Zechariah Moore, a field representative for Roofing Guys, returned from a 90-minute roof inspection on August 6, he delivered Jordan and Sarah with bad news: the roof was in need of severe repairs to the cost of $30,000-$40,000. After showing the couple pictures of the roof damage, Moore left them with his business card. Later that day, Moore texted Jordan more photos of the roof and said wind damage was the likely culprit. “Due to some of the recent storms, I would say let’s file a claim now and get your house ready in the event a named storm comes and you have to pay...