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People Moves: Caro Joins Alliant Insurance Services as VP; LUBA Workers’ Comp Hires McCrary 0

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People Moves: Caro Joins Alliant Insurance Services as VP; LUBA Workers’ Comp Hires McCrary

Article 0 Comments Caro Joins Alliant Insurance Services as VP John Caro has joined Alliant Insurance Services as vice president in its Alliant Americas division. Caro is based in Lafayette, La. Alliant is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. Caro has over 30 years of executive experience in the insurance, banking and biotechnology industries. He most recently served as a corporate sales executive at Brown & Brown and an independent agent at Caro Insurance. LUBA Workers’ Comp Hires McCrary LUBA Workers’ Comp has hired Leslie McCrary as a Business Development Underwriter for the states of Oklahoma and Arkansas. Based in Tulsa, Ok., Leslie joins LUBA with more than 30 years of underwriting experience. In her new role with LUBA, she will be responsible for maintaining and cultivating relationships with LUBA’s independent insurance agency partners throughout the states of Oklahoma and Arkansas. Topics Workers’ Compensation 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 this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. Interested in Workers Comp? Get automatic alerts for this topic.

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People Moves: Kleinhenz Retires, Wells is Promoted at Celina Insurance Group

Article 0 Comments Kleinhenz Retires, Wells is Promoted at Celina Insurance Group Mike Kleinhenz is retiring as senior vice president, chief financial officer and treasurer at Celina Insurance Group. Celina is headquartered in Celina, Ohio. Kleinhenz’s career at Celina began in 1987 as the corporate accounting and administration manager. He held the roles of director of accounting, director of farm operations, director of internal audit and corporate secretary. Suzanne Wells will succeed Kleinhenz as senior vice president, CFO and treasurer. Wells has 31 years of finance experience. She began a career with Miami Mutual Insurance Company in 1996. That company affiliated with Celina in 2006. She has held several leadership positions at Celina, including her most recent role as director of internal audit and corporate secretary. 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 this article valuable. Please tell us what you liked about it. Submit No Thanks Here are more articles you may enjoy. The most important insurance news,in your inbox every business day. Get the insurance industry’s trusted newsletter

Louisiana Department of Insurance Opens Second Round of Incentive Program 0

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Louisiana Department of Insurance Opens Second Round of Incentive Program

Article 0 Comments The Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) has opened the second round of the Insure Louisiana Incentive Program, which is designed to offer grants to insurers that write new policies in the state. The application period began Sept. 1 and goes through Sept. 30. Approximately $13 million in grant funds is available during this application period. The first round of applications saw nearly $42 million of the available $45 million awarded to eight insurers. Another $10 million was added to the remaining $3 million during the recent Louisiana Regular Session. More than 28,000 policies have been written through the program, LDI said. SafePoint Insurance has also been approved to take more than 19,000 policies out of Louisiana Citizens during the upcoming round of depopulation. The assumption date for those policies eventually authorized by policyholders’ agents is October 1. The top five parishes for new policies are Jefferson, Orleans, Terrebonne, St. Tammany and Lafayette. “This program is designed to bring immediate relief to residents who can’t find a policy or are experiencing unaffordable rates, especially those in Louisiana Citizens,” Commissioner Jim Donelon said in a statement. “Getting policyholders out of Citizens is vital to Louisiana’s economic recovery, and I...

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Visual Artists Fight Back Against AI Companies for Repurposing Their Work

Article 0 Comments Kelly McKernan’s acrylic and watercolor paintings are bold and vibrant, often featuring feminine figures rendered in bright greens, blues, pinks and purples. The style, in the artist’s words, is “surreal, ethereal … dealing with discomfort in the human journey.” The word “human” has a special resonance for McKernan these days. Although it’s always been a challenge to eke out a living as a visual artist – and the pandemic made it worse – McKernan now sees an existential threat from a medium that’s decidedly not human: artificial intelligence. It’s been about a year since McKernan, who uses the pronoun they, began noticing online images eerily similar to their own distinctive style that were apparently generated by entering their name into an AI engine. The Nashville-based McKernan, 37, who creates both fine art and digital illustrations, soon learned that companies were feeding artwork into AI systems used to “train” image-generators – something that once sounded like a weird sci-fi movie but now threatens the livelihood of artists worldwide. “People were tagging me on Twitter, and I would respond, ‘Hey, this makes me uncomfortable. I didn’t give my consent for my name or work to be used this way,’”...

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12 Fast Facts About Annuity Issuers’ Graders

1. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission decides who gets to assign the ratings. The SEC has designated 10 organizations as “nationally recognized statistical rating organizations,” or NRSROs. The biggest four, and the ones the SOA institute team focuses on, are AM Best, Fitch Ratings, Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings. The others are DBRS, Demotech, Egan-Jones Ratings, HR Ratings de Mexico, Japan Credit Rating Agency and Kroll Bond Rating Agency. Credit: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Canadian Broker Network launches first AI automation bot 0

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Canadian Broker Network launches first AI automation bot

Toronto, ON (Aug. 29, 2023) – Canadian Broker Network (CBN), Canada’s leading network of independent insurance brokers, and insurance automation startup Quandri are pleased to announce the launch of CBN’s first artificial intelligence robot to transform the way CBN brokers work. The Vancouver-based company’s robot will help CBN’s broker members save time and money by eliminating huge quantities of duplicate data entry in their broker management systems, thus streamlining data accuracy and service to their insurance customers from coast to coast. “Having a robot for our home and auto insurer portal entry will save our members tens of thousands of dollars per year, improve processing productivity up to 800%, enhance data accuracy and customer service by enabling our members to reallocate resources towards meaningful customer value activities,” said Lorie Phair, CBN President. “CBN has always stayed at the forefront of customer-centric innovation in our industry. This is an exciting step in our modernization journey and a great example of how our members empower each other to gain the necessary solutions, service, scale and competitive advantage to help secure the future for independent brokers in Canada.” Quandri CEO and Co-founder, Jackson Fregeau said CBN joins many other leading insurance groups that...

FSRA Innovation Office Looks to Enable Advancements in Ontario Insurance Sector 0

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FSRA Innovation Office Looks to Enable Advancements in Ontario Insurance Sector

An insurance company is proposing to adopt a new way to distribute commercial insurance products to improve market access and convenience for consumers Toronto, ON (Aug. 30, 2023) – The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has established an Innovation Office to help identify, support and enable opportunities to facilitate and foster innovation across the financial services sector. “The goal of the Innovation Office is to help emerging and existing innovators develop their ideas while maintaining consumer confidence in financial services,” said Glen Padassery, FSRA Executive Vice President. “We are committed to responsible innovation which simply means that FSRA will support Ontario’s financial services sectors to grow and thrive by helping them introduce innovative products, services, and business models in a manner that manages risk to consumers and stakeholders.” To help guide the pursuit of responsible innovation, the Innovation Office released a framework to standardize the way it reviews new ideas, products and services. At the same time, it established a test and learn environment to validate and assess potential ground-breaking advancements before they are introduced into the Ontario market. Recently, the Innovation Office approved its first test and learn application. An insurance company is proposing to test a...

CHES Expands High-Value Home Protection 0

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CHES Expands High-Value Home Protection

Toronto, ON (Aug. 28, 2023) – Every home is unique, and so is our cover. MGA CHES Special Risk has unveiled comprehensive insurance for high-value homes in Canada, following the recent release of a personal articles floater for jewellery, watches objects d’art and collectibles. CHES Special Risk, a trusted name in the insurance industry, is elated to announce its latest offering that caters to the unique needs of Canadian homeowners with high-value properties. In a world where unforeseen challenges can compromise the integrity of valued homes, CHES Special Risk’s new ‘all risks’ insurance policy provides an unmatched shield against a range of perils, from earthquakes and fires to accidents and liabilities. Gary Hirst, CEO and president at CHES Special Risk, expresses the company’s commitment to securing what matters most for homeowners. “Owning a high-value home is a testament to your client’s accomplishments, and we’re here to protect it with a level of coverage that matches its significance,” Hirst says.“Our high-value home insurance is designed to provide comprehensive protection, from architectural marvels to precious belongings.” With years of experience in understanding the unique needs of homeowners, CHES has crafted a high value home insurance policy that caters to the luxury and...

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Australia Settles Lawsuit Over Climate-Related Systemic Risks to Sovereign Bonds

Article 0 Comments The Australian government has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit which alleged it had failed to disclose climate change-related risks to investors in the country’s sovereign bonds, court filings showed. The terms of the settlement, if approved by the federal court, will require the Australian government to make a statement acknowledging that climate change is a systemic risk that may affect the value of its government bonds. Kathleen O’Donnell filed the suit in 2020 claiming investors who buy Australian government bonds should be made aware of the risks due to climate change that might make it difficult for Australia to pay back its debt. O’Donnell, who also represented some other bond investors in her class action, did not seek any damages as part of her claim, her lawyers said on Wednesday. The court in an order dated Aug. 23 asked the parties to send the settlement notice to investors. The court will hold a hearing on Oct. 11 to decide whether to approve the settlement. “As an investor, I am pleased with the proposed settlement. This is the first time a country with a AAA credit rating has acknowledged climate change is a systemic risk when...

9 Investing Tips to Help Clients Save for Retirement in 2023 0

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9 Investing Tips to Help Clients Save for Retirement in 2023

Start Slideshow Wealthy individuals and families are increasingly turning to financial professionals for critical advice about preparing for retirement. As such, retirement savings and wealth accumulation represent an exciting and rapidly changing field for financial advisors as new, complex issues and financial strategies are emerging. According to a panel of experts convened for a recent ThinkAdvisor webinar, the pace of innovation can only be expected to continue, and it is all but certain that clients will continue to demand more support from their advisors when it comes to preparing for retirement and achieving peace of mind about life after work. The panel included Lara Castleton, U.S. head of portfolio construction and strategy at Janus Henderson Investors; Ayako Yoshioka, a senior portfolio manager with Wealth Enhancement Group; and Candice Tse, global head of strategic advisory solutions at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Clients across the wealth spectrum face a growing number of challenges in balancing different savings vehicles with legacy planning goals, longer lifespans and other concerns, the trio of experts said. They argued that advisors with the right retirement planning skill sets can deliver tremendous value to their clients, boosting both loyalty to their firm and revenue.  The trio further stressed...