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SoFi Securities Hit With $1.1M FINRA Fine Over Theft in Cash Accounts

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has censured and fined SoFi Securities $1.1 million for failing to establish and maintain a reasonable Customer Identification Program for SoFi Money, its cash management brokerage account, which resulted in $2.5 million in stolen funds. According to FINRA’s order, from December 2018 through April 2019, SoFi used “a largely automated process to approve the opening of SoFi Money accounts that was not reasonably designed to verify the customers’ identity and was, therefore, vulnerable to fraud perpetrated by third parties using fictitious or stolen identities.” The firms approved the opening of approximately 800 accounts that third parties then used to transfer approximately $8.6 million from the accounts of customers at other financial institutions without authorization, FINRA’s order states. Approximately $2.5 million of those transfer were subsequently withdrawn by these third parties from the SoFi Money accounts. “As a result, SoFi violated FINRA Rules 33 l0(b) and 2010,” FINRA found. “During this period, SoFi also failed to develop and implement a written Identity Theft Prevention Program (ITPP) reasonably designed to detect, prevent, and mitigate identity theft.”

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6 Lessons From Charlie Munger on Investing and Business

2. Build your board with people you admire. Davis recalled Munger’s thoughts on choosing directors, saying, “Those people are the face of your clients — and keeping people in front of you that you don’t want to disappoint will always make you behave better.” 3. Earn people’s trust. Munger advised living life “in a web of deserved trust,” Davis recalled. “He said that the nature of trust, of behaving in a certain way, it makes other people better as well,” and advised treating people in a way that they’re given “a reputation to live up to,” Davis said. 4. Be patient. Munger “talked about how difficult it is to do nothing … And he said, it’s often not that making a good decision is rare and valuable, but then sticking with it, not getting shaken out, letting it unfold over a very long period of time,” Davis said. “So Charlie was very comfortable doing nothing for long periods of time, and often in the investment industry, professionals are uncomfortable with that, because it looks like they’re doing nothing. “But Charlie and I used to admire the man who built the Suez Canal, the architect named Ferdinand de Lesseps. And he...

Gallagher Re Global InsurTech Report for Q1 2024 0

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Gallagher Re Global InsurTech Report for Q1 2024

In this report, we review global InsurTech funding and investment quarter over quarter. The 2024 series of reports will examine the role of Artificial Intelligence in our industry, breaking down the function and processes of AI into their relevant parts within the reinsurance value chain. The first report of this series will focus on distribution and sales. Rolling Meadows, IL (May 3, 2024) – Gallagher Re is pleased to announce the release of its Q1 2024 Global InsurTech Report. In keeping with prior reports, we spotlight InsurTech companies that are pertinent to this sector, interview thought leaders in this space and detail the latest InsurTech investment data. Below is a summary of our key findings for Q1. Key findings for Q1: Global InsurTech funding dipped below $1B in Q1 2024, falling from $1.103B in Q4 2023 to $912.25M in Q1 2024, the lowest since Q1 2020. No quarterly $100M+ mega-round deals for the first time since Q3 2017. Early-stage InsurTech funding increased 26.5% quarter on quarter, countering the broader InsurTech funding picture. Average InsurTech deal size fell sharply by 30.6% quarter on quarter — from $14.14M in Q4 2023 to $9.81M in Q1 2024. 28% of Q1 2024 InsurTech deals...

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Extreme Weather Is Driving More US Power Outages, Studies Show

Article 0 Comments For decades, residents of eastern Queens in New York City have complained that they’re more likely to lose power when extreme weather hits, even as lights in other parts of the city stay on. A new study that looks at power outages across New York state suggests they’re right. Its broader conclusion — that different areas, even within the same neighborhood, can be more vulnerable to power outages — aren’t just limited to New York. “We’re focusing on New York state, but power outages are a growing problem nationally,” says Nina Flores, a doctoral student at Columbia University and lead author on the study, which was published Wednesday in PLOS Climate. She points to both the nation’s aging electric grid and damages from storms made increasingly severe by climate change. A separate analysis published last month by the nonprofit research group Climate Central found that between 2014 and 2023, the US experienced twice as many weather-related power outages as it had during the prior decade. Nationwide, some 80% of power outages that affected at least 50,000 people were driven by weather, according to the report. Examples of weather-related outages are everywhere. In 2021, the effects of winter...

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Cracks in O’Hare Columns Aren’t Insured Property Damage, Just Bad Product – Court

Article 0 Comments Cracked steel columns are not “property damage,” but are building products that are not covered by a contractor’s general liability policy, the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decided in an opinion that lets St. Paul and other insurers off the hook in a botched construction project at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. While U.S. courts have often found that policy wording is ambiguous, in this case, the lower court and the appeals court concluded that a St. Paul Guardian Insurance Co. policy for a subcontractor was clear enough and limited coverage only to damage to property owned by “others.” Travelers and Charter Oak policies similarly confined the steel-making subcontractor’s coverage to its own products. The dispute began in 2003 when the City of Chicago contracted with Walsh Construction Co. to build a canopy and glass-and-steel curtain wall at the airport. Walsh subcontracted with a steel company, which subcontracted with LB Steel LLC to fabricate and install the steel columns to support the wall and canopy. Per an agreement, LB listed Walsh as an additional insured on its GCL policies. Several years into the project, city inspectors found cracks in the welds on the columns, and the city...

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Uber Hit With £250 Million Suit From London’s Black Cab Drivers

Article 0 Comments Uber Technologies Inc. was sued by thousands of London’s black cab drivers in a suit seeking hundreds of million pounds accusing it of unlawfully operating in the capital city. The claim alleges Uber improperly obtained a license to operate in the city and made unlawful gains for at least six years from 2012, RGL Management Ltd., the firm running the claim, said. Uber’s operating system did not comply with the requirements of the UK’s laws on private hire vehicles. The claimants also say that Uber’s intention was to gain market share unlawfully and, by necessity, take business from existing black cab drivers. “Uber knew this at all material times; and that in order to obtain its license Uber deliberately misled Transport for London as to how that operating system worked,” RGL, which is managing the claim, said. The fresh dispute resurfaces old tensions for the ride hailing platform that’s faced multiple setbacks since entering the London market. Transport for London first refused to renew its license to operate in 2017 on safety and regulatory concerns, and again in 2019. Both times Uber successfully appealed those decisions. It was also forced to overhaul its business model after the...

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New DOL Fiduciary Rule Hit With First Lawsuit

At the same time, the suit continues, “the DOL amended several related ‘prohibited transaction exemptions’ … including an amendment to PTE 84-24, which directly relates to the compensation that insurance agents may receive if they are deemed to be fiduciaries under the new 2024 Fiduciary Rule.” Labor’s 2024 fiduciary rule and PTE “amendments are just the latest salvos by the DOL in its almost 15-year quest to re-define what it means to be an ERISA fiduciary in contravention of the will of Congress,” the suit states.  “Moreover, it blatantly defies the prior ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit … striking down a rule package that was effectively indistinguishable from the 2024 Fiduciary Rule,” it explains. FACC said in a statement Thursday that it was “disappointed that the DOL has chosen to go down this same tired path with yet another proposal that blatantly violates the 2018 ruling by the Fifth Circuit and arrogantly ignores limitations of its authority under ERISA.” The DOL’s new rules, finalized on April 23, “are yet another assault on the financial services industry — especially insurance agents — that only serve to create more cost and confusion for American consumers,” FACC...

PACICC Board makes inflation adjustment for personal lines benefit limits 0

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PACICC Board makes inflation adjustment for personal lines benefit limits

First-time implementation of new inflation-protection policy Toronto, ON (May 2, 2024) – The Board of Directors of the Property and Casualty Insurance Compensation Corporation (PACICC) approved a first-time implementation of its new inflation-adjusted limits for Personal Property and Automobile lines of business at its April 11 Board Meeting. The idea of incorporating inflationary adjustments into benefit limits was the subject of an industry consultation in the Summer of 2023, where it received strong support. The principle was approved by the PACICC Board in November of 2023 and regulatory approval of the changes to PACICC’s governing Memorandum of Operation received the required unanimous support from regulators in all 13 Participating Jurisdictions (10 provinces and three territories) on March 4, 2024.  The changes will take effect on Canada Day – July 1, 2024. Says Dave Oakden, newly-elected Chair of the PACICC Board of Directors, “PACICC is a policyholder protection mechanism and the decision to reflect the impact of inflation in our personal lines benefit limits is an important step forward in our larger modernization agenda.  It is good news for consumers and is strong evidence of the customer-focus of Canada’s home, car and business insurance companies.” He continued, “Limits were first set...

Coalition Expands Active Insurance Offering to Canadian Enterprises With Up to $5B in Revenue 0

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Coalition Expands Active Insurance Offering to Canadian Enterprises With Up to $5B in Revenue

Coalition 2024 Cyber Claims Report Also Reveals Increased Risks Associated with Boundary Devices like Firewalls and VPNs San Francisco, CA (May 2, 2024) — Coalition, the world’s first Active Insurance provider designed to prevent digital risk before it strikes, is pleased to announce the expansion of its cyber insurance offering to large enterprise businesses in Canada with revenues of up to CAD 5 billion, except in the province of Quebec. “This expansion to enterprise-sized businesses means Coalition can offer all the benefits of Active Insurance to customers with much larger attack surface to defend and, therefore, greater cyber exposures,” said Kelly McGuinness, Coalition’s Team Lead Canada, Production Underwriting and Eastern Business Development. “Now, large Canadian businesses can gain access to Coalition’s first integrated cyber defense that brings together active cyber risk assessment, proactive protection against cyber threats, expert response, and comprehensive cyber coverage.” Each policy offered by Coalition Insurance Solutions Canada, Inc. (CIS Canada) includes onboarding calls with experts to guide policyholders on what to expect through their Active Insurance journey, a variety of Tabletop Exercises to guide policyholders on how to respond and recover from cyber incidents, and dedicated Security Services offerings through Coalition’s affiliate, Coalition Incident Response. This...

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Verisk’s First-Quarter Profit Beats on Insurance-Focused Analytics Demand

Article 0 Comments Data analytics firm Verisk beat estimates for first-quarter profit on Wednesday, driven by strong demand for its products used by property and casualty (P&C) insurers to assess underwriting risks. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT P&C insurers’ earnings have been hit by higher catastrophe losses in recent years due to extreme weather events around the world, prompting them to spend more on analytics that help determine policy risks. Global insured losses from natural catastrophes in the first quarter were estimated to be $20 billion, heavily driven by storm activity in the United States, according to a report by reinsurance broker Gallagher Re. CONTEXT Verisk now caters primarily to the insurance industry after divesting its specialized markets and financial services businesses in March 2022 and April 2022, respectively. Catastrophe risk modeling offered by the company assesses the likelihood and severity of loss from both natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, as well as man-made disasters globally. BY THE NUMBERS On an adjusted basis, Verisk earned $1.63 per share in the first quarter, beating analysts’ estimates of $1.53, according to LSEG data. The company’s consolidated revenue rose 8% to $704 million. Underwriting revenue increased 8.2%, while claims revenue climbed 7.6%...