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Ray of Hope Emerges for ‘Forever Bars’: SEC Roundup

[embedded content]Welcome to SEC Roundup, a bimonthly video series by former Securities and Exchange Commission senior trial counsels Nick Morgan and Tom Zaccaro, founders of the nonprofit advocacy group Investor Choice Advocates Network. The recent SEC directive to respond to Thomas Powell’s petition for reinstatement could signal a shift in how the agency handles its controversial administrative bars. Powell shared his struggle with what industry professionals call “forever bars” — SEC-imposed restrictions that often extend far beyond their stated duration. Powell settled with the SEC in September 2021 for a $75,000 fine and accepted a two-year bar with the right to reapply afterward. He filed for reinstatement in January 2024 but was met with silence until this week when the Commission finally directed staff to respond to his petition. Mark Hiraide, ICAN’s senior legal director, explained that unlike monetary penalties, industry bars have devastating consequences. These restrictions extend beyond employment to include trading limitations and may trigger “bad boy” disqualifications under Regulation D. Powell described unexpected consequences: “My trading companies fired me — all of them. They closed my 401(k), my IRA, all accounts were summarily closed.” American Express even canceled his corporate cards, stranding employees traveling for business. This...

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PG&E Misses 1Q Profit Estimates on Higher Expenses, LA Wildfire Worries Linger

Article 0 Comments PG&E Corp. missed first-quarter profit estimates on Thursday, as the power company was hurt by higher operating and interest expenses. Higher-for-longer interest rates push up borrowing costs for utility companies, which typically need more capital for expenses such as maintaining the grid. Related: Lawsuits Accuse Insurers of Colluding to Drop Coverage in Fire-Prone Parts of California PG&E said its interest expenses rose 2.7% to $734 million in the first quarter from a year earlier. Multiple wildfires scorched tens of thousands of acres across Los Angeles in January in what is now expected to be the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. The area’s electric utilities have also come under increasing scrutiny. Related: Southern California Edison Lays Out $925M Plan to Rebuild After LA Wildfires The utility, which filed its wildfire mitigation plan for 2026 to 2028 in March, expects to construct nearly 700 miles of underground powerlines and 500 miles of other wildfire safety system upgrades between 2025 and 2026. PG&E said that average residential electric rates were lower in March than they were a year earlier and it expects natural gas delivery rates to remain flat in 2025. On any tariff impact, PG&E on a...

Almost 1 in 3 insurance claims are due to a catastrophic weather or climate event: Allstate Canada 0

Almost 1 in 3 insurance claims are due to a catastrophic weather or climate event: Allstate Canada

Homeowners taking steps to prepare during clear blue skies can help reduce the impact of the next storm Markham, ON (Apr. 7, 2025) – Catastrophic weather and climate events are no longer a rare occurrence in Canada. According to a recent Léger poll conducted on behalf of Allstate Insurance Company of Canada, only 27 per cent of Canadian homeowners who responded say they are very confident their home is prepared for a major weather or climate event, such as a tornado, flooding, wildfire, or hail that cause wide-spread damage to communities. Allstate in-house data shows that 29 per cent of claims it received over the last 10 years – that’s almost 1 in 3 – were from major weather or climate events. Analysis shows the number of claims due to large events was particularly high in 2024, with approximately 2.4 times more claims when compared to 2023. In fact, the Insurance Bureau of Canada’s industry-wide numbers show that 2024 shattered the record for costliest year for severe weather-related losses in Canadian history, at over $8.5 billion. Given the real possibility of such events in the future, being prepared requires ongoing education and information to support homeowners with adopting proactive behaviours....

Majesco’s Latest Release Moves Beyond Insights to Real Business Impact 0

Majesco’s Latest Release Moves Beyond Insights to Real Business Impact

Accelerating Intelligent Efficiency and Optimization in Insurance Morristown, NJ (Apr. 8, 2025) – Majesco, a global leader in cloud insurance software solutions, is pleased to announce the launch of its Spring ‘25 Release, a major milestone underscoring Majesco’s unwavering commitment to innovation and operational transformation for the insurance industry and customers. Focused on delivering real, measurable business impact, the release introduces intelligent, business outcome-driven capabilities designed to empower insurers to move faster, optimize and streamline operations, deliver enhanced business results, and lead confidently in an ever-evolving market. With a clear focus on efficiency, the Spring ’25 Release introduces advanced automation, GenAI innovations, and performance enhancements across the entire Majesco Platform of solutions, empowering both business and IT users. It marks another major step in the evolution of Majesco Copilot, moving from simple insights to true operational impact – streamlining complex workflows, reducing manual effort and optimizing cost structures. “Operational effectiveness and efficiency are more critical than ever. Our Spring ’25 Release is designed to help insurers rapidly adapt to market conditions and stay ahead of the competition and customer demands by delivering advanced capabilities that accelerate product and service launches, with a strong focus on operational and cost optimization,” said...

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12 Most Dynamic Metro Areas: 2025

The 2024 Most Dynamic Metropolitans Report from Heartland Forward, a think tank, highlights the diverse economic trajectories of metropolitan statistical areas across the U.S., those with populations of more than 50,000. It focuses on employment growth, average annual pay, real GDP, per capita income and entrepreneurial activity.

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Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Establishes Minnesota Chapter

Article 0 Comments The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping communities and enriching lives, recently announced the establishment of the IICF Minnesota Chapter, part of the IICF Midwest Division. Based in Minneapolis and serving the Twin Cities region, this new Chapter will broaden the Midwest Division’s support in local communities and grant focus on education, health and safety. The IICF Minnesota Chapter is led by a board of senior industry leaders from prominent insurance companies and businesses across the region. Jennifer Gentry, Senior Vice President and Minneapolis Branch Manager at Chubb, will serve as the Founding Chair of the IICF Minnesota Chapter Board of Directors. The IICF Minnesota Chapter Board of Directors recently hosted its inaugural meeting where they determined charitable grant focus areas and elected an Executive Committee in addition to Board Chair Jennifer Gentry, including Vice Chair Michael Koelbl of Liberty Mutual, Development Co-Chairs Jamie Drugg of HUB International and Tom O’Donnell, and Grants Chair Jon Bauman of The Hanover. The Founding Board Companies of the IICF Minnesota Chapter include Aon, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance, Burns & Wilcox, Chubb, CNA, HUB International, Integrity Insurance, Liberty Mutual, Marsh McLennan Agency, The Hanover, The Hartford and...

Four Myths That Are Hampering Employee Productivity: Gartner 0

Four Myths That Are Hampering Employee Productivity: Gartner

CEOs Are Relying on Employee Productivity to Fuel Organizational Growth in 2025 and Beyond A November 2024 survey of more than 450 actively employed CEOs and other senior executive business leaders revealed that their most critical challenges to leading and growing their enterprise are talent and workforce (23%) and culture and people management (13%). “As traditional avenues of growth like market consolidation, labor arbitrage and cheap financing show signs of diminishing returns, CEOs are looking to employee productivity to fuel their growth ambitions in 2025 and beyond,” said Brent Cassell, Vice President, Advisory​ in the Gartner HR practice. “However, productivity remains difficult for most employers to define, measure and impact.” Gartner has identified a working measure of productivity for knowledge workers that significantly improves business outcomes, such as revenue, profitability and brand reputation: employees doing quality work consistently and on time – employee efficiency – and employees devoting their time and skills to work that is results oriented and focused on organizational priorities – employee value creation. ​ The four emerging productivity myths that HR must address to drive their organizations desired business outcomes include: Myth No. 1: Productivity Is Not HR’s Job “Employees, managers, and business leaders view productivity...

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UK’s Admiral Group to Sell Its US Insurer Elephant to J.C. Flowers

Article 0 Comments United Kingdom’s Admiral Group has agreed to sell its U.S. auto insurance business — Elephant Insurance Co. and Elephant Insurance Services— to the private investment firm J.C. Flowers & Co. for an undisclosed cash consideration representing approximately the net asset value of Elephant. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, Elephant is a property/casualty insurance that offers auto as well as home, motorcycle, and life insurance direct to customers through an online application process. It sells in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Admiral indicated it is selling Elephant in order to focus on its core business. “This is a good outcome not only for Elephant and its employees, but also the Group and our shareholders. This transaction will enable us to focus on the opportunities we see for delivering long-term sustainable growth in our businesses in the UK and Mainland Europe,” commented Costantino Moretti, head of International Insurance for Admiral Group. Eric Rahe, managing director and co-president of J.C. Flowers, noted that Flowers has a long history of investing in the insurance industry. Rahe said Flowers will leverage its experience to “help Elephant Insurance generate new opportunities as a standalone company.” The move by Admiral was...