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People Moves: Chubb’s Westchester Names Leaders of Three New Business Practices

Article 0 Comments Matt Booker Westchester, Chubb’s Excess and Surplus Lines Division, headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, named three leaders for its recently formed new business practices – property, casualty, and financial lines – serving the organization’s digital and middle market, brokerage and programs businesses. Matt Booker, head of brokerage property and inland marine, has been named property practice leader. Tom McLaughlin Tom McLaughlin, head of brokerage casualty, has been appointed casualty practice leader, which will include the casualty, specialty casualty and environmental businesses. Andrea Larkin Andrea Larkin, recently appointed head of financial lines, will become the financial lines practice leader. The three practice leaders will be charged with the strategy, development, growth and execution of their business, and will continue to report to David Lupica, division president, Westchester. Dave Roberts Dave Roberts, executive vice president, Westchester digital and middle market, will also take on additional responsibilities, including operations, programs and IT, while continuing to lead the digital and middle market business and oversight of the business’ underwriting, product development and profitability. Topics Leadership Chubb 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...

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10 Good Stocks Under $10 a Share: Morningstar

Buying low-priced stocks — say, for $10 a share — seems to make sense, Morningstar investment specialist Susan Dziubinski wrote in a blog post this week. Doing so makes it easier for investors to accumulate a meaningful position in a stock, with the hope that it will surge in value over time, as small fluctuations in a stock price can result in big gains.

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LA Wildfires by The Numbers: Insured Losses, Total Losses, Ratings, Rates

Article 0 Comments The impact of the historic Los Angeles-area wildfires is being broadly examined and continually refined, with updates almost daily on insured losses, total economic losses and damages, credit ratings—and lately worrying outlooks for the effect of the fires on insurance rates. Tens of thousands of properties will be ultimately lost when final counts come in, along with dozens of fatalities. Insured losses range from $8 billion for the two largest fires to $40 billion for all of five. Total economic losses are expected to be well into the hundreds of billions of dollars. The blazes were driven by hurricane-force winds fanning over bone-dry brush—mercifully, the area has rain in the forecast over the weekend. The numbers from the fires, though likely to continue to change, are worth noting now. Rates The losses from the L.A. fires are expected to cause property insurance carriers to raise rates, reduce coverage options, or both, in California and other at-risk areas, according to S&P. This could be made worse in the “likely event that the California FAIR Plan falls short of funds,” S&P stated. “California wildfires have had a significant impact on the U.S. property insurance industry over the past three...

Navacord Announces Strategic Partnership with Citistar Financial, Expanding Footprint in Financial Services 0

Navacord Announces Strategic Partnership with Citistar Financial, Expanding Footprint in Financial Services

Toronto, ON (Jan. 20, 2025) – Navacord Corp., one of Canada’s largest and fastest-growing insurance brokerages, is pleased to announce its new strategic partnership with Citistar Financial, a leading Canadian life insurance MGA (Managing General Agent). This partnership underscores Navacord’s ongoing expansion into financial services and specialty lines, reinforcing its commitment to delivering tailored solutions for diverse markets. Founded with a focus on entrepreneurial spirit and innovative leadership, Citistar Financial has experienced remarkable growth since its inception. Citistar has established itself as a leader in its highly defined business segment. Known for delivering customized life insurance solutions, the company has earned the trust of clients and advisors alike, building a loyal customer base through dedication and expertise. “Our partnership with Citistar Financial is a pivotal move for Navacord as we continue to expand and diversify our offerings within the financial services sector,” says Shawn DeSantis, President and CEO of Navacord. “Citistar’s strong leadership team and entrepreneurial culture align with our goals of driving growth and offering niche, specialty services. Together, we’ll continue to meet the evolving needs of clients across Canada.” “We are excited to partner with Navacord as this collaboration opens up tremendous growth opportunities for Citistar Financial,” says...

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Fitch Revises Mercury’s Outlook to Negative on More Possible LA Fire-Size Cats; Affirms Ratings

Article 0 Comments Fitch Ratings said in an outlook revision that it expects Mercury General Corp.’s credit profile will withstand the impact of the Eaton and Palisades fires near Los Angeles, but the agency also gave a negative outlook that reflects “the potential for credit deterioration and financial pressure from a third large catastrophe event or an aggregation of smaller weather-related claims.” Fitch affirmed Mercury’s Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at ‘BBB’ and senior debt at ‘BBB-‘. Fitch has also affirmed Mercury’s property/casualty operating subsidiaries’ Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings at ‘A-‘(Strong). The rating outlook is revised to Negative from Stable. Related: Moody’s Expects LA Wildfires to Increase Property Insurance Costs Across State The negative outlook also reflects some uncertainty on the reinsurance program capacity that would be available should another event occur, according to Fitch. The L.A. could consume more than 30% of the aggregate natural catastrophe budgets set for 2025 by Europe’s four largest reinsurers – Swiss Re, Munich Re, Hannover Re and SCOR, according to an earlier Fitch Ratings commentary. Related: KCC Estimates Losses From Palisades and Eaton Wildfires to Be Near $28B Fitch noted that the California insurance market is experiencing significant fire catastrophes. “Combined, these...

GIC Underwriters Leverages Indemn’s Generative AI Agents to Answer Broker Inquiries 0

GIC Underwriters Leverages Indemn’s Generative AI Agents to Answer Broker Inquiries

GIC Underwriters Slashes Email, Phone, and Live Chat Traffic by 46% in 60 Days Using Indemn’s Generative AI Agents to Answer Broker Inquiries New case study highlights how generative AI helped GIC Underwriters to free up customer service representatives during peak phone hours and quote more new business by automatically answering broker questions about risk appetite, coverage details, and quote generation New York, NY (Jan. 23, 2025) – Indemn AI, a conversational insurance platform powered by Gen AI, and GIC Underwriters, a wholesale broker & MGA, is pleased to announce the release of a new case study demonstrating how Gen AI is improving the broker experience and helping GIC to scale its high service standards. GIC Underwriters, based in Miami, Florida, offers commercial and personal lines products in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas.  The company attributes its 30 years of success to superior customer service and a commitment to meeting the needs of its brokers. Before engaging with Indemn AI, GIC built a well known chat system that their team of six customer service representatives (CSR) used to respond to broker questions. While this tool was popular with brokers, GIC knew AI could help them respond to more broker inquiries...

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Families Sue TikTok in France Over Teen Suicides they say are linked to harmful content

Article 0 Comments In the moment when her world shattered three years ago, Stephanie Mistre found her 15-year-old daughter, Marie, lifeless in the bedroom where she died by suicide. “I went from light to darkness in a fraction of a second,” Mistre said, describing the day in September 2021 that marked the start of her fight against TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app she blames for pushing her daughter toward despair. (AP editor’s note — This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org. Helplines outside the U.S. can be found at www.iasp.info/suicidalthoughts.) Delving into her daughter’s phone after her death, Mistre discovered videos promoting suicide methods, tutorials and comments encouraging users to go beyond “mere suicide attempts.” She said TikTok’s algorithm had repeatedly pushed such content to her daughter. “It was brainwashing,” said Mistre, who lives in Cassis, near Marseille, in the south of France. “They normalized depression and self-harm, turning it into a twisted sense of belonging.” Now Mistre and six other families are suing TikTok France, accusing the platform...

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14 Tax Changes Republicans Could Make in 2025

Republican members of the House Budget Committee have floated a draft list of ideas to cut or increase taxes, or to cut federal spending. Lawmakers must make cuts to pay for the promised extension of the 2017 tax overhaul known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. “The wide variety of options suggests lawmakers are still debating the best approach to achieve a fiscally responsible and pro-growth package of tax reforms,” Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the right-leaning Tax Foundation in Washington, told ThinkAdvisor Thursday in an email.

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10 Steps to Get a Prospect to Commit

Sales is tough. You may be offering financial advice to people who need it, but it is still selling. People rarely (make that never) say: “Stop talking! You have convinced me! Where do I sign?” In many cases, they put you off. You will need to keep the conversation going in the days and weeks ahead. This talk falls into your lap. How do you follow up?

Nearly Half of Consumers Feel Comfortable with Insurers Using AI to Monitor Severe Weather Risks, but Concerns About Premiums Remain High: Insurity Survey 0

Nearly Half of Consumers Feel Comfortable with Insurers Using AI to Monitor Severe Weather Risks, but Concerns About Premiums Remain High: Insurity Survey

Insurity 2025 AI in Insurance Report highlights consumer sentiment on AI adoption in the P&C insurance industry, uncovering crucial insights for insurers navigating the future of risk management Hartford, CT (Jan. 21, 2025) – Insurity, the leading provider of cloud-based solutions for insurance carriers, brokers, and MGAs, is pleased to announce the release of its 2025 AI in Insurance Report, highlighting key consumer opinions on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in P&C insurance, specifically how it pertains to severe weather. The report revealed that while 45% of consumers state feeling comfortable with their insurer using AI to monitor and provide real-time alerts about potential weather-related risks, 42% express concern about how the accuracy of those predictions could influence their premiums or coverage. These findings highlight a significant challenge for insurers as they work to balance the introduction of AI-powered preventative services with transparent communication about their reliability and potential financial impact on policyholders. Despite these concerns, there are clear opportunities for insurers to build trust. While 26% of consumers say they are more likely to trust AI-generated early warnings compared to traditional forecasts, only 20% consider it important that their insurer use AI to predict and mitigate severe weather...