Featured Articles Blog

0

Uncategorized

Court Orders Texas Adjuster to Cease Using Lloyd’s Trademarked Names

Article 0 Comments A Texas public adjuster committed willful infringement when he formed a corporation and a limited liability company with the names “Certain Underwriters at Lloyds London, Inc.” and “Certain Underwriters of Lloyds London,” a U.S. district court ruled on Feb. 7. The Southern District of Texas granted Lloyd’s permanent injunction in its bid to stop adjuster Eric Ramirez from using its federally trademarked names. Ramirez agreed to the motion. Ramirez was retained by various policyholders in pursuing claims under insurance policies issued at Lloyd’s. After an appraisal umpire ruled against Ramirez’s position in one recent case, he filed lawsuits and administrative complaints accusing Lloyd’s of improper business practices. Ramirez accused Lloyd’s of not properly registering to do business in Texas, failing to pay taxes which he presumably claims are due to the State of Texas, and seeking damages in the form of compensation he would have received from the policyholder if it had received a larger damage award on its claim. Lloyd’s, the world’s premier insurance marketplace, does not sell or issue insurance policies in Texas. Ramirez formed businesses with the state of Texas named “Certain Underwriters at Lloyds London, Inc.” and “Certain Underwriters of Lloyds London, LLC.”...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires MGB Re 0

Uncategorized

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires MGB Re

Rolling Meadows, IL (Jan. 16, 2024) – Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. is pleased to announce that its reinsurance division, Gallagher Re, has acquired Toronto-based MGB Re. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. MGB provides reinsurance solutions to health maintenance organizations (HMOs), managing general underwriters (MGUs) and insurance companies in the U.S. medical sector. The MGB leadership team of Andrew Barth, Jacqueline Greer and Thomas McGrath will operate under the direction of Jim Fallon, Gallagher Re’s Eastern Region Manager in North America and Rob Fast, Life, Accident and Health Segment Leader in North America. “MGB’s strong client relationships and expertise will accelerate the growth of our medical reinsurance business and broaden our service offerings,” said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman and CEO. “I am very pleased to welcome Andrew, Jacqueline and Thomas to our growing, global team.” About Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (NYSE: AJG), a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. Gallagher provides these services in approximately 130 countries around the world through its owned operations and a network of correspondent brokers and consultants. For more information, visit www.ajg.com. SOURCE: Arthur J. Gallagher &...

Securian Canada and CAA partner to offer new life and health & dental insurance solutions 0

Uncategorized

Securian Canada and CAA partner to offer new life and health & dental insurance solutions

Toronto, ON (Jan. 17, 2024) – Securian Canada, a leading insurance provider of innovative, life-ready insurance solutions in Canada, is excited to announce a new partnership with the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA). Through this new partnership, CAA introduced an innovative suite of insurance products and a digital-first customer experience to their more than seven million Members across the country, effective January 1, 2024. “We are incredibly excited to work alongside Securian Canada to expand CAA’s life and health & dental insurance portfolio,” said Tim Shearman, President and CEO of CAA National. “Our organizations share values and an unwavering commitment to providing solutions rooted in genuine care for our Members. Together, we are poised to deliver new market-leading products and exceptional Member services, staying true to our commitment to continually seek new ways to increase Membership value.” Through this partnership, CAA Members have access to a streamlined portfolio of life and health & dental insurance products, available at preferred prices for Members and delivered through a convenient and user-friendly digital platform. “We are proud to be partnering with a trusted household brand like CAA to deliver innovative insurance solutions that aim to enhance the financial security of their Members across Canada,”...

Canadians continue to prioritize travel in 2024 despite economic challenges 0

Uncategorized

Canadians continue to prioritize travel in 2024 despite economic challenges

Allianz Global Assistance’s seventh annual Vacation Confidence Study reveals that 70 per cent of Canadians plan to take a vacation in 2024 Cambridge, ON (Jan. 14, 2024) – Vacation confidence continues to rise in the face of financial pressures, with seven in ten Canadians saying they plan to take a vacation in 2024, according to the seventh annual Vacation Confidence Study from Allianz Global Assistance. The leading travel insurance and assistance provider’s study, conducted in partnership with Ipsos, revealed that vacation confidence is strongest among high-income households (85 per cent), university graduates (80 per cent) and families with children (79 per cent). These encouraging travel intentions are reinforced by the 72 per cent of Canadians who say that an annual vacation is important to them. Those over the age of 55 – who were among the slowest to return to travel in recent years – are driving the rise in vacation confidence with a 10-point increase from last year’s study. Considered to be some of the country’s most avid travellers, the 55+ generation has now rebounded to its 2019 numbers in terms of travel intentions. “Canadian travellers are a resilient bunch. Despite facing unprecedented challenges in recent years, as our...

0

Uncategorized

More Pain Coming For U.S. Office Market: Prudential

What You Need to Know For Prudential, other property types have made up for the ongoing office building slump. A top executive expects high-quality commercial prices to fall to less than 60% of their peak value. The insurance company reported higher earnings on higher revenue for the fourth quarter. A Prudential Financial executive predicted Wednesday that office prices will continue to drop before finally starting to recover. Robert Falzon, Prudential’s executive vice chairman, estimated that prices for high-quality commercial properties have already dropped 16% since the current slump began and might bottom out at around 20% below the peak prices. “Office, obviously, has corrected much more severely,” Falzon said. “Closer to 30% to date, and probably has another 10% to 15% yet to go.” Office mortgages account for only about $8.4 billion of Prudential’s $721 billion in assets, and the strong performance of other types of commercial properties helped to increase the value of all properties in the portfolio by about 6% in 2023, Falzon noted. What it means: Office buildings and their mortgages account for only a small portion of the investment portfolios supporting clients’ life insurance and annuities. But life insurance company executives are in a good position...

0

Uncategorized

Lubbock, Texas to Vote on Marijuana Despite Attorney General Lawsuit

Article 0 Comments LUBBOCK — An effort to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana in Lubbock is moving forward, despite Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suing five cities this week for doing the same. Lubbock Compact, the organization behind the proposed initiative, said Paxton’s decision to sue Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Denton, and Elgin for decriminalizing marijuana goes against what those voters have shown they want. “This was actually on the ballot. People came out and made their voices heard,” said Adam Hernandez, communications chair for Lubbock Compact. “It’s extremely authoritarian.” Texas lawmakers have long resisted calls to legalize recreational marijuana, and medical use is highly restrictive. This is why some cities have sought to at least decriminalize possession of small amounts. Voters overwhelmingly passed the ordinances, with 70-85% in favor in all five cities. Lubbock residents have been working to join that trend over the last few months. Lubbock Compact circulated a petition and collected more than 10,000 signatures to get the proposal in front of the city council, which rejected the ordinance. Mayor Tray Payne previously said it contradicts state law. In light of Paxton’s lawsuit, Hernandez said Lubbock Compact’s plans have not changed and hopes other...

Tech Advances and Cool Products at CES 2024: Does it Matter to Insurance? 0

Uncategorized

Tech Advances and Cool Products at CES 2024: Does it Matter to Insurance?

By Mark Breading, ReSource Pro — Every year at this time, we are treated to many articles, videos, and news accounts of the developments at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show. The event long ago expanded beyond just consumer tech to tech relevant to businesses and individuals alike. This year, you may have already seen reports of transparent screens, glass panes that convert sunlight to electricity, a small surveillance camera that can identify faces from miles away, and lots of food tech among the thousands of new innovations shown at CES2024. A long but incomplete list of areas covered at the event includes mobility, smart home, drones, AgTech, sleep tech, fitness and wellness, beauty tech, EnergyTech, psytech, metaverse/XR, robots, laptops, cameras, mobile phones, TVs, and much more. There were amazing innovations in each of these areas (although finding them among 4000+ exhibitors across multiple venues and millions of square feet of floor space was not always easy). The big question – and main topic for this blog – is whether all of this really matters to property/casualty insurance. The short answer is yes, but the more nuanced answer is it depends. Many of the new innovations at CES...

0

Uncategorized

Life Happens to Stick With Influencer-Based Strategy

Life Happens is working with social media influencers this month, rather than one celebrity spokesperson, to promote its latest Insure Your Love life insurance awareness campaign. Life Happens began teaming with people with social media followings in 2023, and that strategy helped the group get the life insurance awareness message into more nooks than usual, according to Brian Steiner, the group’s new executive director. The influencer-based approach was especially effective at reaching the many young consumers who get their financial services information via social media, Steiner said last week in an interview. “We want to continue to expand upon that,” Steiner said. What it means: If you want to support the Insure Your Love campaign this year, you might have to spend more time on Instagram. For work. Life Happens: Life Happens is a nonprofit organization that helps life, health and annuity issuers promote life insurance, disability insurance, long-term care insurance and overall financial wellness, including retirement wellness. It always had a close relationship with the National Association of Insurance Financial Advisors, and it recently combined with NAIFA. Its 10 full-time staffers now work in NAIFA’s new headquarters offices in Arlington, Virginia.

Extending Broker Connectivity Function: HTM Insurance 0

Uncategorized

Extending Broker Connectivity Function: HTM Insurance

A 2024 ICTA nomination Toronto, ON (Feb. 7, 2024) – Over the past few years HTM has been working with Cognition+ to implement a new web-based platform built on Application Programming Interfaces with the goal of eliminating operational data silos to promote internal efficiencies and build the capability to share information securely and privately with stakeholders. In 2022 and early 2023, HTM took the next step to enable Agent Access and Broker Connectivity for their sales channel. The Broker Connectivity initiative aligns with both the Centre for Study of Insurance Operations (CSIO) and the Insurance Brokers Association of Canada (IBAC) guidance on Direct Data Exchange to provide a superior experience for brokers. Broker Connectivity Goals: Achieve a true “portal-less” solution by leveraging Application Programming Interfaces (API) between Cognition+ Platform and three major Broker Management Systems (BMS products) with extendibility to including other BMS as needs change: Applied EPIC Vertafore SIG XP Acturis PowerBroker Enable Broker Workflows to be completed entirely within BMS for automobile and property: Quote / Rate Policy Policy Inquiry Generate “As of” Declaration Page New Business Upload Billing Query Claims Inquiry Agent Access Goals: HTM is also an Agent-based company, the mutual is providing direct access for...

0

Uncategorized

Wisconsin Governor Declares Flood Insurance Awareness Week

Article 0 Comments Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has proclaimed February 4-10, 2024, Flood Insurance Awareness Week in Wisconsin to recognize the state’s increasing flood risk and the importance of having appropriate insurance coverage. “Now is the time to prepare for spring flooding and consider getting flood insurance coverage,” said Insurance Commissioner Nathan Houdek. “Flood insurance policies from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) have a 30-day waiting period so don’t wait until flood waters are rising.” Standard homeowners and renters insurance policies do not cover flood damage, yet millions of Wisconsinites don’t have flood insurance coverage. Flood insurance policies can protect individuals, families, and business owners alike. Low-cost renters flood insurance from the NFIP can start at just $100 per year. “One inch of water can cause up to $25,000 in damage so even small or moderate floods can be financially devastating if you don’t have the right insurance,” said Commissioner Houdek. Flood insurance is available even for those who don’t live in Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs), also known as floodplains. On average, 40% of the NFIP flood insurance claims occur outside of these high-risk flood areas. Flood insurance policies will also pay a claim regardless of whether there...