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Hays County, Texas Sheriff’s Office Recovers $220K of ‘Cloned’ GMC Denalis

Article 0 Comments The Hays County, Texas Sheriff’s Office said it has recovered four stolen trucks with cloned vehicle identification numbers. The Hays County Sheriff’s Auto Theft Unit worked with the Hays County Tax Assessor’s Office and partnering agencies to recover four VIN-cloned GMC Denalis between April 4 and April 9. VIN-cloned vehicles appear to be legitimate due to the VIN returning to a vehicle that is not reported as stolen, the sheriff’s office said in a press released. The estimated recovery value is $220,000. The GMC Denalis were reported stolen through the Dallas Police Department, Houston Police Department and a law enforcement agency in Connecticut. The GMC Denalis were sold by suspects on Facebook Marketplace for a price significantly below market value, the sheriff’s office said. All victims were provided fictitious titles for the cloned vehicles. The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud (CAIF) says that vehicle cloning involves replicating a legitimate vehicle’s VIN, which criminals use to mask stolen or illicitly obtained cars. Insurance carriers risk dealing with false claims if a cloned vehicle gets into an accident. The Hays County Sheriff’s Office encourages car buyers to visit the Texas Department of Motor Vehicle title check before purchasing a vehicle....

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Josh Brown: Feels Like a ‘Classic Bear Market’

What is a high deductible health plan for purposes of an HSA? Get Answer Are remote workers eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Get Answer Is the value of employer-provided coverage under accident or health insurance taxable income to an employee when the coverage is provided for the employee’s spouse, children or dependents? Get Answer What auto-enrollment rules apply to 401(k) plans starting in 2025? Get Answer What are the penalties for failing to comply with the FBAR filing requirements? Get Answer What are the payment options that must be made available to employees on FMLA leave? Get Answer Can a 401(k) plan sponsor distribute a former participant’s account balance without consent after the participant separates from service? Get Answer Can participation in a health FSA impact an individual’s ability to contribute to an HSA? Get Answer

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People Moves: Markel Promotes Brooke to Senior Underwriter of War and Terrorism; BHSI Promotes Kidd to Newly Created Role of Head of Underwriting in Europe

Article 0 Comments Markel Promotes Brooke to Senior Underwriter of War and Terrorism Markel, the insurance operations within Markel Group Inc., announced that Matthew Brooke has been promoted to senior underwriter, War and Terrorism, effective immediately. Reporting to Chloe Gordge, head of War and Terrorism at Markel, Brooke’s new duties will involve driving the profitable expansion of the international war and terrorism portfolio, by identifying gaps in political violence coverage and providing bespoke solutions to insureds, globally. Matthew Brooke He will continue underwriting new and renewal business, ensuring closer coverholder interaction and working closely with the war and terrorism wholesale claims team by feeding in on wordings and claims trends, while supporting younger members in the team with their professional development. Since Brooke started at Markel more than three years ago, he’s demonstrated exceptional leadership and portfolio management skills and been instrumental in delivering a best-in-class underwriting service for clients. Prior to his arrival at Markel, Brooke spent more than eight years at W/R/B Underwriting (a Berkley Company), where he started as an operations assistant before progressing to an underwriter – specializing in political risk and political violence insurance solutions. “The war and terrorism market – by its very nature...

ACORD Launches “GRLC Generation 2.0” Data Standards to Support Digitalization Throughout Global (Re)Insurance Industry 0

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ACORD Launches “GRLC Generation 2.0” Data Standards to Support Digitalization Throughout Global (Re)Insurance Industry

New York, NY (Apr. 10, 2025) – ACORD, the standards-setting body for the global insurance industry, is pleased to announce the launch of the next generation of the ACORD Global Reinsurance & Large Commercial (GRLC) Standards. “GRLC Generation 2.0” represents an updated, global, digital-first approach to data messaging, enabling straight-through, end-to-end processing across the policy lifecycle and the (re)insurance ecosystem. ACORD GRLC Gen 2 Standards will allow insurers, brokers, and service providers to leverage a unified set of digital data standards from placing to binding to claims to settlement. This will not only increase efficiency, interoperability, and data quality, but also support the adoption and implementation of emerging digital-first systems both internally, and across trading partners. “As the global industry faces an unprecedented rate of change, our members have expressed an even greater demand for digitalization and interoperability. We are witnessing some incredible success stories of members digitizing their enterprises and trading partnerships, and enjoying material efficiency gains over their non-digital peers,” said Chris Newman, President International, ACORD. “There is a golden opportunity to extend the benefits of standardized data exchange across all stakeholders and throughout the insurance lifecycle.” ACORD GRLC Standards have been widely used by the global (re)insurance...

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Encrypted Messaging, Unseen Risks: Navigating Compliance with WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal

Time: 1 p.m. ET | 10a.m. PT Webcast Sponsored by: Modern businesses move fast – and your clients expect seamless, real-time communication. But with a growing selection of messaging platforms to choose from and ongoing updates to existing tools, how can financial firms enable innovation while staying compliant? Applications like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal provide end-to-end encryption, offering privacy and security benefits. However, these same features create compliance challenges for firms required to capture and supervise business-related conversations. Regulators continue to scrutinize off-channel communications and encrypted messaging. Before enabling encrypted messaging, firms must take proactive compliance measures to balance innovation with regulatory obligations. In this session, we’ll discuss: Key risk factors when adopting encrypted messaging platformsBest practices for updating policies, employee training, and supervisory oversight How to leverage technology and automation to mitigate compliance risks Join us to learn how your firm can confidently embrace encrypted messaging while ensuring regulatory compliance. Gain actionable insights on strengthening policies, improving supervision and implementing technology-driven compliance solutions to protect your firm. Featured Speakers: Tiffany Magri | Senior Regulatory Advisor | Smarsh Kasey Schaefer | Senior Manager of Regulatory Compliance | IQEQ Philip Henry| Associate Director, Regulatory Compliance | IQEQ Register Now Can’t attend?...

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T. Rowe Price Rolls Out Social Security Analyzer for Advisors

What is a high deductible health plan for purposes of an HSA? Get Answer Are remote workers eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Get Answer Is the value of employer-provided coverage under accident or health insurance taxable income to an employee when the coverage is provided for the employee’s spouse, children or dependents? Get Answer What auto-enrollment rules apply to 401(k) plans starting in 2025? Get Answer What are the penalties for failing to comply with the FBAR filing requirements? Get Answer What are the payment options that must be made available to employees on FMLA leave? Get Answer Can a 401(k) plan sponsor distribute a former participant’s account balance without consent after the participant separates from service? Get Answer Can participation in a health FSA impact an individual’s ability to contribute to an HSA? Get Answer

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Trump Temporarily Lowers Tariffs for Most Countries, Raises Them for China

Article 0 Comments U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would temporarily lower new tariffs on many countries, even as he raised them further on imports from China, in a sudden reversal that sent U.S. stocks sharply higher. Trump’s announcement came less than 24 hours after steep new tariffs kicked in on imports from dozens of trading partners. The new trade barriers have hammered markets, raised the odds of recession and prompted retaliatory responses from China and the European Union. Trump said he would raise the tariff on Chinese imports to 125% from the 104% level that took effect at midnight, further escalating a high-stakes confrontation between the world’s two largest economies. Trump said he would at the same time suspend targeted tariffs on other countries for 90 days to allow time for U.S. officials to negotiate with countries that have sought to reduce them. A 10% blanket duty on almost all U.S. imports will remain in place, the White House said. The announcement also does not appear to affect duties on autos, steel and aluminum that are already in place. U.S. stock indexes shot higher on the news, with the benchmark S&P 500 up more than 6%. Bond...

Are insurers truly ready to scale gen AI? 0

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Are insurers truly ready to scale gen AI?

New survey findings uncover gaps in preparedness, but a strategic focus on resources, responsibility, and returns could help insurers from POC to production — By Sandee Suhrada & Stephen Casaceli, Deloitte — It’s likely that no other technology offers as much transformative potential as generative artificial intelligence. This technology has the potential to change the way insurers operate, assess risks, launch products, and interact with customers, among other things. However, the journey toward scaling gen AI has challenges on multiple fronts. In the last year or so, many insurers have dipped their toes in gen AI proofs of concept, but despite the hype, and some initial successes, many may not yet be fully prepared to harness the full potential of gen AI. So, the question looms: How ready are insurers to scale gen AI? In June 2024, Deloitte conducted a survey of 200 US insurance executives, of which 100 come from the life and annuity (L&A) sector and the remaining 100 from the property and casualty (P&C) sector, to assess their readiness to adopt gen AI. Survey findings reveal how insurers surveyed are preparing to move past the initial proof of concept (PoC) and experimentation stage and how they are...

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Q4 Claim Spike Increases 2026 Medicare Advantage Subsidies

What is a high deductible health plan for purposes of an HSA? Get Answer Are remote workers eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? Get Answer Is the value of employer-provided coverage under accident or health insurance taxable income to an employee when the coverage is provided for the employee’s spouse, children or dependents? Get Answer What auto-enrollment rules apply to 401(k) plans starting in 2025? Get Answer What are the penalties for failing to comply with the FBAR filing requirements? Get Answer What are the payment options that must be made available to employees on FMLA leave? Get Answer Can a 401(k) plan sponsor distribute a former participant’s account balance without consent after the participant separates from service? Get Answer Can participation in a health FSA impact an individual’s ability to contribute to an HSA? Get Answer

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New Mexico Insurance Department Moving to Increase FAIR Plan Limits

Article 0 Comments New Mexico Superintendent of Insurance Alice Kane increased maximum residential property insurance limits for policies from $350,000 to $750,000 through the New Mexico Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan. The move was adopted by the NM FAIR Plan Governing Committee. It clears the way for residential homeowners to secure insurance as they rebuild in areas impacted by wildfires. “This is a much needed first step to help New Mexico residents secure home insurance to rebuild after losing their homes destroyed by wildfires,” Kane said in a statement. “There is still work that needs to be done to help small businesses through increased limits for commercial property insurance coverage and mitigation through home hardening requirements.” Kane provided provisional approval to increase the maximum coverage limits for one to four family dwellings to $750,000 statewide. The provisional approval also permits a builder’s risk policy to be issued by ZIP code for a one-year term and renewed for a maximum of five years when an emergency order is declared by the governor. The superintendent’s provisional approval expires on June 20. New Mexico Senate Bill 81 amends the NM FAIR Plan Act. If passed by the Legislature and signed by the...