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Bill Introduced to ‘Transform’ The California FAIR Plan

Article 0 Comments A bill to initiate reforms to the California FAIR Plan that include changes to customer service and claims, and added transparency was introduced on Monday. Assembly Bill 1680, the Make It FAIR Act, authored by Assemblymember Lisa Calderon and sponsored by California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, is designed to strengthen claims handling, expand coverage options, and improve transparency for wildfire survivors. Related: California Bill Would Require Insurer Claims Handling Plans, and Double Penalties The act enacts reforms identified in the California Department of Insurance’s recent Report of Examination, which found the FAIR Plan had failed to comply with 17 recommendations related to financial condition, corporate governance, and consumer protections. The examination reportedly revealed systemic problems that left wildfire survivors struggling with delays, denials, and inconsistent claims decisions, particularly after the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, according to the CDI. Insurance claims paid from Los Angeles wildfires is $22.4 billion, yet the department has taken formal legal action against the FAIR Plan for denying hundreds of smoke damage claims, and despite Lara’s efforts to improve the FAIR Plan’s performance and accountability, wildfire survivors have continued to report ongoing problems accessing benefits, with delays, denials, and miscommunication at the top...

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Search Suspended for 7 People on Fishing Vessel That Sank Off Massachusetts

Article 0 Comments The U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday suspended the search for seven people who were aboard a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Massachusetts in rough, frigid waters. The Coast Guard launched a search and rescue mission early Friday after receiving an alert from the 72-foot (22-meter) Lily Jean about 25 miles (40 kilometers) off Cape Ann. Searchers found a debris field near where the alert was sent along with a body in the water and an empty life raft, the Coast Guard said. Crews covered about 1,000 square miles (2,589 square kilometers) using aircraft, cutters and small boats over a 24-hour period. However, after consultation between search and rescue mission coordinators and on-scene commanders, the Coast Guard announced Saturday that it had determined that all reasonable search efforts for the missing crew members had been exhausted. Officials said there wasn’t a mayday call from Lily Jean as it navigated the frigid Atlantic Ocean on its way home to Gloucester, Massachusetts, America’s oldest fishing port. The Coast Guard was notified by the boat’s beacon that alerts when it hits the water. The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the sinking. Officials did not immediately...

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California Accelerates Work on EV Rules, Tax Credits That Trump Opposes

Article 0 Comments California officials are meeting Detroit automakers this week to discuss the next phase of greenhouse gas regulations for cars and trucks, the state’s top air regulator said. California is fighting in the courts and in the U.S. Congress against President Donald Trump’s efforts to dismantle landmark federal vehicle emissions standards. Gov. Gavin Newsom plans an announcement next week that will lay out details of a new $200 million electric vehicle incentive program that aims to help fill the gap left after Trump’s budget bill killed federal tax credits for new electric cars last year, Lauren Sanchez, chair of the California Air Resources Board, told Reuters in an interview. Related: ZEV Registrations in California Fell for the First Time Since 2020 “We are accelerating all of our work on zero-emissions vehicles, and we know that we have to navigate a managed transition that protects the environment, protects communities, protects workers in collaboration with the industry,” Sanchez said. Ford Motor and Stellantis did not immediately comment. GM confirmed it was meeting with CARB in Detroit on Thursday and said it “has long history of dialog and collaboration with CARB” and added “California has the 4th largest economy in the...

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TDI Investigations Result in $50M for Fraud Victims

Article 0 Comments The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) Fraud Unit this week announced that it contributed to insurance fraud investigations landing $50.9 million in court-ordered restitution in fiscal year 2025. More than 20 TDI investigators working across the state looked into 314 cases of insurance fraud, the department said. After digging into financials and interviewing suspects and victims, the investigators passed their cases to TDI attorneys for prosecution. Courts often punished the fraudsters with prison time, fines, and restitution they were ordered to pay back their victims. One investigation landed prison time, a $10,000 fine, and court-ordered restitution for former Houston insurance agent Mark Davis Lunsford, TDI said. Lunsford allegedly sold fake insurance policies and stole over $318,000 in premiums from clients. Source: Texas Department of Insurance Topics Fraud 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 Fraud? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

SUPERAGENT AI Announces World’s First Insurance “Quoting AI Agent,” Solving the Industry’s Hardest Challenge 0

SUPERAGENT AI Announces World’s First Insurance “Quoting AI Agent,” Solving the Industry’s Hardest Challenge

The most complex and time-consuming task in insurance has finally been automated. The new agent navigates carrier portals, optimizes rates, and delivers bindable quotes in seconds, marking the final sprint toward a Fully Autonomous Agent San Francisco, CA (Aug. 12, 2025) — SUPERAGENT AI, Inc. is pleased to announce the world’s first Quoting AI Agent, a technological breakthrough that automates the single most critical and labor-intensive workflow in the insurance industry. For decades, the “quoting bottleneck”, the manual process of collecting data, navigating multiple carrier portals, and re-keying information, has limited agency growth. Today, SUPERAGENT AI shatters that barrier. The new Quoting AI Agent autonomously gathers customer data, navigates complex carrier rating engines, optimizes rates, and generates accurate quotes for agencies. The Quoting AI Agent will officially launch on February 11. Starting today, agencies can sign up for exclusive early access and book live demonstrations. “This is the moment the industry has been waiting for. We haven’t just built an AI Agent; we have solved the hardest problem in insurance,” declared Vlada Lotkina, CEO of SUPERAGENT AI. “By automating quoting and integrating it with our Inbound and Outbound AI Agents, we are giving agencies the power to scale infinitely. The...

Manulife Canada Delivers Faster Life Insurance Approvals with AI Integration and Enhanced Digital Application 0

Manulife Canada Delivers Faster Life Insurance Approvals with AI Integration and Enhanced Digital Application

Faster access to life insurance coverage will help Canadian families get protected sooner Part of Manulife’s market-leading AI capabilities to deliver innovative, customer-first solutions Toronto, ON (Jan. 29, 2026) – Manulife has introduced a redesigned electronic application and an enhanced version of its proprietary AI underwriting engine, MAUDE (Manulife Automated Underwriting Decision Engine). Together, these innovations enable automatic approvals in as little as two minutes for qualified applicants, helping Canadians access coverage faster and with less complexity. The enhanced application streamlines the process of applying coverage, and builds on Manulife’s position as an AI market leader. Designed to support advisors as they guide clients through the questionnaire, its new intelligent features improve usability – helping MAUDE make faster decisions and enabling underwriters to review complex cases more efficiently. By accelerating access to protection, these improvements reinforce Manulife’s mission to help Canadians live longer, healthier, better lives – supported by responsible, transparent, and customer-first AI. “Since launching last fall, advisor adoption has been strong. By December, more than half of eligible cases – 58 per cent – had approvals processed automatically through MAUDE, a 56 per cent increase from pre-launch,” said Karen Cutler, Chief Underwriter, Manulife Canada. “By combining smarter questions with advanced...

Canadian Insured Losses from Catastrophic Events Total CAD 2.4 Billion in 2025: CatIQ 0

Canadian Insured Losses from Catastrophic Events Total CAD 2.4 Billion in 2025: CatIQ

2025 societal losses total 3.4 billion Toronto, ON (Jan. 20, 2026) – The magnitude of catastrophic events experienced across Canada in 2025 pushed the insured loss total for the country to CAD 2.4 billion, according to CatIQ, Canada’s insured loss and exposure indices provider. Uninsured losses added $1.0 billion, bringing total societal loss to $3.4 billion, according to the Institute for Catastrophe Loss Reduction (ICLR), Canada’s leading source for disaster resilience knowledge. The insured loss figure of CAD 2.4 billion makes 2025 the ninth largest loss year for the country on record, putting the year on the lower end of the past five years of annual loss totals, and well below the record-breaking 2024 total, which currently sits at $9.1 billion. Based on 43 years of data, insurance covers about 54% of societal losses. The 2025 total societal loss is below the long-term trend, currently $9.1 billion per year and growing 9% annually after inflation, according to ICLR. Despite the average year in total loss, this year was anything but typical: 2nd in total catastrophes declared 2nd in ice storm losses 1st in fire catastrophes declared The costliest event in 2025 was the ice storm that struck Ontario and Quebec...

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Cape Cod Faces Highest Snow Risk as New Coastal Storm Forms

Article 0 Comments New York and most of the Northeast will likely be spared the worst of a new winter storm this weekend that still may clip Cape Cod and eastern New England after also making conditions worse across parts of North Carolina and Virginia as it travels north. In Cape Cod, eastern Massachusetts, snow is expected to develop after midnight Sunday and linger through the day before tapering off early Monday morning, said Matthew Belk, a National Weather Service meteorologist. The forecast for Long Island isn’t as clear because any jog in the storm’s track further out to sea would drop the chances for snow across the eastern end of the region. Exact snowfall totals haven’t been tallied because conditions can change, but the probability of at least 6 inches (15 centimeters) stands at 50% to 60%. “We are still a few days out and a lot can change in three days,” Belk said. The snow threat follows a bout of severe winter weather that brought heavy snow or crippling ice from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands, straining electric grids and grounding flights at levels not seen since the Covid pandemic...

Ecclesiastical Insurance Releases New Risk Bulletin on Property Security and Theft Prevention 0

Ecclesiastical Insurance Releases New Risk Bulletin on Property Security and Theft Prevention

Toronto, ON (Jan. 15, 2026) – Ecclesiastical Insurance has released a new risk management resource aimed at helping community-serving organizations reduce theft and property damage losses, emphasizing that many incidents develop over time when small security gaps go unnoticed. The new bulletin, Property Security and Theft Prevention – A Practical Risk Management Guide, provides practical, standards-informed guidance for organizations including faith communities, non-profits, educational institutions, and heritage properties. It outlines preventative measures that can reduce theft risk while also limiting the damage commonly associated with forced entry. “Too often, organizations think about security only after a loss,” said Colin Robertson, Chief Risk Management & Customer Officer at Ecclesiastical Insurance. “This bulletin is designed to shift that mindset, helping organizations identify vulnerabilities early and take practical steps to protect the spaces, assets, and people that support their mission.” The bulletin includes guidance on: Conducting effective security and theft risk assessments Strengthening perimeter, access, and physical security Protecting high-value and vulnerable assets Using alarms, CCTV, and security guarding strategically Aligning security measures with applicable codes and standards “Security is stewardship,” Robertson added. “Proactive planning doesn’t just reduce loss, it helps ensure these organizations can continue serving their communities without disruption.” Access the...

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Thousands of East Texans Remain Without Power After Winter Storm

Article 0 Comments Thousands of East Texans remain without power days after a winter storm paralyzed most of the state over the weekend. Many may be without power until Sunday as utility workers traverse icy roads in dense forests to restore power. Winter Storm Fern spread across the U.S. from New Mexico to the Northeast over the weekend, leaving thick layers of ice and snow in its wake. Residents across Texas saw temperatures drop below freezing and power outages that lasted anywhere from a few minutes to days. East Texas was the only region in Texas to lose power for an extended period of time. Misty Gulley, a school cafeteria worker in Panola County, has been without power since 7:30 a.m. Saturday. She has relied on a gas-powered generator to keep warm. “Once I run out of gas, I’ll be in trouble,” she said. “Going to get more is an issue with road conditions, and the cost to keep it running is an issue.” Panola County is part of the stretch of counties near the Louisiana border that remain without power. Shelby County, which is directly south of Panola County and home to about 24,000 people, saw the most ice...