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Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame Honors 5 Inductees

Article 0 Comments The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame honored five inductees and awarded seven scholarships to insurance students at its annual banquet in Conway on Oct. 17. The banquet was held on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas. The 2024 inductees into the Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame are: Sonia Bell, LUTC, Retired owner, Sonia Bell Agency, Conway Charles C. “Buddy” Campbell, (1923 – 2003), Retired Executive Vice President, Rebsamen Insurance, Little Rock Jim House, CHC, CLU, Retired President and CEO, USABLE Life, Searcy Roland W. Julian, CIC, CLU, ChFC,President, Rogers Insurance Agency, Rogers Terry Youngblood, President, Youngblood Insurance Agency, Inc. – a division of Crosspointe Insurance Advisors, LLC, Texarkana The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame was created in 2015 to honor industry professionals who have made lasting contributions to advance the role of insurance in society. The Arkansas Insurance Hall of Fame awards scholarships to UCA students who in Insurance and Risk Management and maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or above. This year’s scholarship recipients are Gabriella Adkins, Mason Smith, Cole Vangsnes, Samuel Roper, Peyton “Kai” Davis, William Van Asche and Emma Daughtrey. Was this article valuable? Thank you! Please tell us what we can...

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Farm Labor Contractor to Pay Damages Over Pregnancy Discrimination Charge

Article 0 Comments Family Fresh Harvesting, LLC, a farm labor contractor which provides temporary H-2A visas to agricultural workers at nurseries in Michigan and farms in Georgia, entered into a conciliation agreement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to resolve a pregnancy discrimination charge, the federal agency announced. In the charge, a pregnant female H-2A employee alleged that Family Fresh fired her and sent her on a bus back to Mexico after she requested unpaid time off to attend medical appointments for her pregnancy. The termination violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination. As part of the conciliation agreement, Family Fresh will provide monetary damages to the former employee. In addition, the company will provide training on Title VII, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to all its employees, including human resources, management and supervisory personnel at the beginning of each work season. The company will also send electronic notice in English and Spanish to all its employees regarding its commitment to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees and hire employees irrespective of their sex or pregnancy. Source: OSHA Topics Agribusiness Contractors Was this article valuable?...

VOOM Launches Electric Bike Insurance Offering 0

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VOOM Launches Electric Bike Insurance Offering

With VOOM’s new expanded innovative motorcycle insurance offering, e-bike and other bicycle owners will pay get a flexible and comprehensive insurance coverage Palo Alto, CA (Oct. 14, 2024) – VOOM Insurance, the leading InsurTech company for the future of mobility, is pleased to announce that it has launched its insurance offering for Electric Bikes. The product is underwritten by Markel Group. This new product builds on VOOM’s successful track record in usage-based insurance for motorcycles and rideshare drivers, extending their innovative approach to the rapidly growing e-bike market. The bicycle insurance product is designed to offer flexible and affordable coverage, extending protection beyond what’s typically available under traditional homeowners or renters insurance policies. It covers a wide range of bicycles, including electric bikes, mountain bikes, hybrid/cruisers, racing bikes, road/track bicycles, and more. Key features of the new e-bike insurance include Liability protection, Physical damage coverage, Medical payments and Theft protection. “Since inception, VOOM’s mission is to provide the best of breed insurance products for the future of mobility, we are excited to expand our suite of products to include coverage for e-bikes,” said Tomer Kashi, CEO and Co-Founder of VOOM. “Our recent expansion into e-bike insurance was driven by feedback...

Crawford & Company Introduces Turvi: A New SaaS Technology Provider For P&C Claims 0

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Crawford & Company Introduces Turvi: A New SaaS Technology Provider For P&C Claims

Claims Technology Veteran Ken Tolson to Serve as CEO of the New Company Atlanta, GA (Oct. 14, 2024) – Crawford & Company®, a leading global provider of claims management and outsourcing solutions to the insurance industry, is pleased to announced the launch of TurviSM, a new insurtech company offering market-ready SaaS solutions built to create a more efficient and accurate, P&C claims ecosystem. Turvi’s SaaS products leverage AI and automation capabilities to accelerate the claim processing workflow, expedite the estimating process, simplify the claim coverage review process and improve the customer experience. Initially developed in-house at Crawford & Company for the benefit of clients leveraging the company’s claims services, the Turvi suite of products will now be accessible to the entire claims industry. The newly formed company will be led by Chief Executive Officer, Ken Tolson, who has more than three decades of experience with Crawford in varying capacities. A known claims industry expert with a proven track record of leading technology innovation across the organization, Tolson brings a passion for the future of insurance that makes him uniquely qualified to lead the new venture. Tolson feels strongly that industry collaboration and market understanding is what is missing from the...

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UK Working to Challenge Russian Shadow Oil Tanker Insurance

Article 0 Comments The UK said three government bodies are working together to challenge Russian shadow fleet oil tankers if it perceives they have dubious insurance. An announcement from the country’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office didn’t specify how such interventions would occur, or how insistent the UK would be. However, it said the Department for Transport, the Joint Maritime Security Centre and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are working together to challenge ships over what cover they have. In the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, Moscow established a shadow fleet of vessels in order to keep its supplies moving. That prompted worries that the ships are operating outside of international regulatory and safety standards, including uncertain insurance, with the international watchdog that oversees shipping voicing concern about dark fleet activities late last year. The UK also designated 18 oil tankers and four liquefied national gas carriers Thursday, the FCDO said in a statement. That represents its largest set of sanctions on ships hauling fossil fuels for Moscow to date. Thursday’s measures bring the total number of ships designated by the UK to 43, the FCDO said. Of the steady stream of ships sanctioned by the US, European Union...

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$200K Transfer Goes Awry After One Dropped Digit: Lawsuit

Shortly after this, two $100,000 transfers moved from Acevedo’s Fidelity account to his Wells Fargo account, the complaint alleges. Ishimatsu never intended to deposit the money into Acevedo’s account, the complaint states. “As such, Defendant Acevedo knew or should have known that the $200,000 deposited into his account was in error when received in his Fidelity Investments account on or around June 5, 2024, and never should have withdrawn the money knowing that it was not intended to be transferred to him,” it contends. Since the withdrawals to Wells Fargo, Acevedo continues to make those funds unavailable to Ishimatsu, LPL or Fidelity, making it impossible to reverse the erroneous transaction, the lawsuit contends. The lawsuit accuses Acevedo of unjust enrichment and converting the funds to his own use. Ishimatsu’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Efforts to reach Acevedo for comment weren’t immediately successful. Image: Adobe Stock

RMA Joins Quotey Marketplace 0

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RMA Joins Quotey Marketplace

Whitby, ON (Oct. 15, 2024) – To assist Canadian professional individuals and organizations requiring comprehensive Errors & Omissions (E&O) policy solutions with quick and competitive insurance rates, Quotey is delighted to announce the expansion of its commercial insurer marketplace to include Reinsurance Management Associates, Inc. (RMA), and their E&O insurance product offering. All brokers using the Quotey platform can receive instant quotes for over 130 classes of professionals including architects, engineers, insurance brokers, real estate agents, property managers, IT/media consultants, customs brokers and many more – all supplied through a connection to RMA’s syndicate portal suite of APIs. Importantly, brokers will also have the benefit of bundling optional coverages for commercial general liability, property and cyber to help them simplify their client’s insurance purchase. “RMA has deep expertise in underwriting professional businesses across Canada, as well as a broad appetite and a highly competitive product,” said Quotey Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Nick Kidd. “We’re thrilled to include their product range in our marketplace and excited to be a part of their digitization journey.” E&O policy solutions will be the first of several RMA products available on Quotey in 2024. Additional solutions for non-standard property, including vacant properties/dwellings will follow...

CCC Identifies Key Drivers of Auto Claims Customer Satisfaction 0

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CCC Identifies Key Drivers of Auto Claims Customer Satisfaction

CCC Intelligent Solutions Study Identifies Key Drivers of Customer Satisfaction and Retention in the Auto Claims and Repair Process Moments of Truth Research Shows Strong Link Between Insurer and Repairer Customer Satisfaction and Reveals Carriers’ Customer Retention Is Not Tied to Satisfaction Chicago, IL (Oct. 8, 2024) – CCC Intelligent Solutions Inc., a leading cloud platform powering the P&C insurance economy, has released the findings from its Moments of Truth study, identifying the key drivers of customer satisfaction and retention in the auto claims and repair process. The study defines “moments of truth” as critical points in the customer journey that have a significant impact on satisfaction and loyalty. The study reveals that consumer satisfaction with insurers and repairers in a claims experience is closely linked, and that their collaboration plays a pivotal role in each other’s satisfaction scores. The findings also indicate that satisfaction with the claims process may not impact insurer loyalty. The study, based on data from 2,400 policyholders who participated in the research, examines nearly 50 moments in the auto claims and repair process. Findings, which were derived using data science methodologies to uncover correlations and patterns in responses rather than reporting direct responses, show that...

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Stellantis Recalls 54,000 Hybrid SUVs Worldwide Over Brake Pedal Defect

Article 0 Comments Carmaker Stellantis said on Wednesday it is recalling 54,000 hybrid crossover SUVs worldwide because the brake pedal in the vehicles could disengage and stop working. The recall, the company said, includes some 2024 through 2025 model-year Alfa Romeo Tonale plug-in hybrid SUVs and some 2024 model-year Dodge Hornet plug-in SUVs that are based on the same platform. The announcement was made in a filing with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a separate statement by Stellantis. The recall includes 21,069 vehicles in the United States, about 2,280 in Canada, 134 in Mexico and about 30,517 outside North America, Stellantis said. The company said that some SUVs may have a brake pedal that could inadvertently disengage while being applied. Stellantis said it was aware of 15 instances globally of the brake pedal assemblies collapsing during normal driving, including one crash, with no injuries reported. Dealers will reinforce the brake pedal by adding a bolt and nut, Stellantis said. The company said that owners of affected models could also use the electronic parking brake to slow the vehicle in a controlled manner if they encounter a loss of braking power. Stellantis said the automatic emergency braking system,...

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Client Sues Barred Broker Over ‘Devastating’ Life Insurance Plan

The cash Alldridge paid into the policy, along with $456,000 he contributed in June 2023 based on Defendants’ recommendation to further secure the plan, “is gone,” it says. Alldridge has forfeited the investment returns that he would have enjoyed had Gottlieb “not instructed him to invest in this ill-fated insurance premium financing scheme and instead provided them with competent investment advice,” the suit contends. “Mr. Alldridge would have enjoyed a record-breaking period for the market instead of investing those monies in Defendants’ plan,” it says. Further, since the life insurance scheme unraveled, it will be impossible now for Alldridge, who has reached age 56 and been diagnosed with Type II diabetes, to obtain life insurance similar to that originally solicited by Gottlieb, leaving him and his family with a less secure financial future, he argues. According to the suit, Gottlieb introduced Alldridge to what he called a “white collar” life insurance plan that provided wholesale cost and exposure to the stock market for growth. Gottlieb told the client he could borrow against the plan at special low rates, allowing for the insurance policy to accumulate wealth through the spread between the low borrowing costs to fund the insurance premium and...