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Worker Injured as Explosion at Texas Paint Plant Sends Fireballs into Sky 0

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Worker Injured as Explosion at Texas Paint Plant Sends Fireballs into Sky

Article 0 Comments GARLAND, Texas (AP) – A worker was injured early Monday when an explosion set a paint manufacturing plant in the Dallas suburbs ablaze and shot a series of fireballs into the night sky. A company spokesperson said the blast at the Sherwin-Williams plant in Garland happened around 1:15 a.m., and people who live and work nearby reported feeling buildings tremble as flames engulfed the industrial facility. “It felt pretty hard. Like the whole house shook,” Giovanny Gamboa, who felt the explosions from miles away, told KDFW-TV. “I felt the shake. I came and investigated myself. I didn’t expect it to be something this far away.” Firefighters extinguished the blaze in a few hours and the employee who was injured has been released from a hospital, Sherwin-Williams spokesperson Julie Young said in an email. She said all employee have been accounted for. Young said production has been suspended at the plant, which primarily makes industrial coatings and resins, but did not respond to a questions about what triggered the explosion. Authorities had put out the flames before 5:30 a.m. but remained at the site mid- morning Monday to monitor hot spots and air quality, said Noah Cunningham, an...

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Indexed Annuities Can Move the Volatility Out of the Client’s Hair

But Fortier said that it’s also easy for advisors who are focusing on maximizing clients’ return on investment to lose track of the need to help clients cope with risk. Now that interest rates are higher, issuers of registered index-linked annuities and non-variable indexed annuities can offer clients more attractive terms, Fortier said. “We use these tools to help craft an asymmetrical risk reward for clients by retaining upside but transferring the downside risk,” Fortier added. What the Big Players Are Doing When your retail client transfers investment risk to an insurer, that’s the purchase of an annuity contract. In the world of employer-sponsored pension plans, that’s a pension risk transfer. An issuer survey from LIMRA, a nonprofit life insurance and financial services research organization, shows that pension risk transfer volume increased to $6.3 billion in the first quarter of this year, which ended March 31, from $2.7 billion in the first quarter of 2021. LIMRA is predicting that pension risk transfer volume will be strong this year, in part because pension yields are up, making the amount of value that can be locked in through a pension risk transfer more attractive. If individual clients nearing retirement age can buy...

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More Big Corporate Settlements Coming, Says Departing Justice Dept Official

Article 0 Comments New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! As Kenneth Polite steps down this month as the head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, he will leave behind a flurry of major corporate settlements that he told Reuters in an exit interview will hit federal court dockets soon. Polite, who will join the law firm Sidley Austin this October as a partner in its white collar defense and investigations practice, spoke with Reuters just days before he officially resigned as Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division, a position he has held since July 2021. “What you’re going to see is a very strong pipeline of investigations that will result in some resolutions in the very-near future, but may have been impacted by the COVID pandemic,” he said. The types of resolutions he is referring to often involve large fines that companies pay to settle criminal charges of foreign bribery or money laundering. In 2022, there were seven such global resolutions in which the DOJ was involved totaling $2.14 billion in penalties. Among the companies that entered global settlements that year included Glencore and Honeywell International. Polite said the department’s recent corporate investigations involved...

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LPL Puts AI Center Stage at Yearly Event

At the start of its yearly conference, LPL Financial executives are emphasizing the growing role of artificial intelligence and their optimistic outlook for the advice business.  “As we look forward together, we are bullish on the future of financial advice and our strategy to  help advisors and institutions turn a blue ocean opportunity into reality,” President & CEO Dan Arnold said in a statement. “For us, that means empowering advisors and institutions to deliver great advice to their clients and to be great operators of their businesses,” Arnold explained in remarks shared with the press early Saturday before the Focus 2023 event’s general session.  In terms of technology, the broker-dealer highlighted its growing interest in the role of AI — as it did during its July 27 earnings call. “When it comes to AI, we don’t believe there’s any replacing the advisor-client relationship,” Chief Technology Advisor Greg Gates said in statement Saturday. “We see AI as an additional opportunity for advisors to enhance the way they engage with clients and run their business.” In the second quarter, the firm introduced a new performance tool, Practice Hub, which relies on AI and aims to serve as a “co-pilot” for advisors, its executives said...

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A Life Settlement Broker’s Fiduciary Duty to the Policy Seller

What You Need to Know Some clients have no practical way to pay to keep a policy in force. Other clients can do that. For those clients, deciding between keeping the policy and selling it can be complicated. Most retirees who are looking for an exit strategy from an unwanted life insurance policy have very limited knowledge of the secondary market or where to begin to sell it for the highest possible value. That’s why the majority of policy owners entrust a life settlement broker to lead them through the application process and to negotiate with market buyers to obtain the highest offer. Because a life settlement broker derives his/her professional livelihood from earning a commission on the sale of the policy, the above scenario opens the door to temptation. It may create an ethical dilemma for those who may be a little too eager to broker the sales transaction. Less responsible players in the market might be inclined to take advantage of an unsuspecting client by readily agreeing to represent the policy seller in the transaction ─ regardless of whether (in the long term) selling the policy is in the client’s best interest. At Asset Life Settlements, we believe...

ZestyAI Named Top 50 InsurTech Leader by CB Insights 0

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ZestyAI Named Top 50 InsurTech Leader by CB Insights

Prestigious Insurtech 50 list recognizes ZestyAI as a leader in climate and property risk analytics solutions San Francisco, CA (Aug. 3, 2023) – ZestyAI, the leading provider of climate and property risk intelligence powered by AI, has been recognized as a top 50 insurtech and leader in climate and property risk analytics solutions by CB Insights. ZestyAI’s inclusion in this select group highlights the significant impact the company has had in delivering valuable climate and property risk analytics solutions to leading insurers. The CB Insights research team picked the 50 leading players from a pool of over 2000 companies. They were chosen based on CB Insights data — including R&D activity, Mosaic scores, business relationships, Yardstiq transcripts, investor profiles, news sentiment analysis, competitive landscape, and team strength — and criteria such as tech novelty and market potential. “Climate risk is reaching new levels of urgency. Globally, insured losses of more than $100 billion per year from natural catastrophes has become a given,” said Attila Toth, Founder and CEO of ZestyAI. “AI has a very big role to play as the insurance industry evolves and adapts to climate risk. ZestyAI is delivering at least ten times return on investment for our...

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CI’s Private Wealth Unit Has a New Name

What You Need to Know CI Private Wealth changed its U.S. brand name to Corient, derived from client oriented. The change received a positive reaction from some members of the financial services industry. CI’s rebranding followed the recent name change of Riskalyze to Nitrogen and Advisor Group to Osaic. Corient, the new brand name of CI Private Wealth, is being greeted with an initially positive reaction from some members of the financial services industry. The wealth advisory firm’s new name was derived from “client oriented” and “expresses the firm’s commitment to providing its clients with an unparalleled wealth management experience,” the Miami-based subsidiary of Toronto-based CI Financial Group, said in announcing the rebranding on Tuesday. Corient now serves as the brand for all CI Private Wealth offices, the company said, noting it “discontinued co-branding with its legacy firm names, effective immediately.” The move, it said, “reflects the ongoing integration of Corient’s predecessor companies into one cohesive” registered investment advisor firm. CI’s rebranding followed the recent name change of Riskalyze to Nitrogen and Advisor Group to Osaic. Industry Reaction In the case of CI, “the timing for a rebrand does seem logical, given the unification of the various entities” at the...

Major Cyber Incidents Caused Decrease in Shareholder Value: Aon Survey 0

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Major Cyber Incidents Caused Decrease in Shareholder Value: Aon Survey

San Juan, Puerto Rico (Aug. 1, 2023) – Aon plc, a leading global professional services firm, today published its 2023 Cyber Resilience Report, revealing that, on average, a major cyber incident resulted in a 9 percent decrease in shareholder value – over and above the market – in the year following the event. The report serves as a guide to help business leaders benchmark their organization’s cyber risk maturity against peers and make better decisions when managing cyber across six risk areas: cyber, operational, supply chain, insider, reputational and systemic. Aon’s global report is based on proprietary client data collected from Aon’s Cyber Quotient Evaluation (CyQu), Aon’s Ransomware Supplemental Application and Aon’s Operational Technology Application. CyQu is a global eSubmission and risk assessment platform that helps organizations better manage cyber risk by providing visibility into cyber exposures and insurability drivers. “Companies have experienced new forms of volatility over the last four years, experiencing a rise in the frequency and severity of cyber threats and ransomware events, followed by a cyber insurance market with rising premiums and retentions and significant underwriting scrutiny,” said Christian Hoffman, global cyber leader for Aon. “We observe that the C-suite increasingly sees that cyber events have...

Westland Insurance acquires Hubbard Insurance and Assurance Belliveau Insurance 0

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Westland Insurance acquires Hubbard Insurance and Assurance Belliveau Insurance

Westland continues to grow across Canada with acquisitions in Ontario and New Brunswick Surrey, BC (Aug. 3, 2023) – Westland Insurance, Canada’s leading independently-owned insurance brokerage, is pleased to announce that it acquired two P&C brokerages: Hubbard Insurance Group and Assurance B. Belliveau Insurance Inc. These acquisitions contribute to Westland’s national expansion and bring Westland into new areas. Hubbard Insurance Group is a family-owned brokerage located in Ontario that’s been serving the insurance industry for 35 years. It’s comprised of two divisions: Hubbard Insurance Brokers, a P&C brokerage with a commercial insurance focus, and Hubbard Financial Services, which provides group benefits, life insurance, and group disability. With this acquisition, Westland Insurance strengthens its focus on commercial lines and expands its talent pool with the addition of Hubbard Insurance Group’s professional and diverse team. Hubbard’s expertise in serving businesses of all sizes complements Westland’s commitment to delivering comprehensive commercial insurance solutions. Hubbard Financial Services joins Westland’s rapidly growing group benefits vertical. With roots tracing back to 1971, Assurance Belliveau Insurance has been serving Dieppe, New Brunswick, for over three decades, and is a multi-generational family business with strong roots in the community. The strategic importance of expanding in Atlantic Canada has...

IBAO Releases New Foundational eLearning Course on the Ontario Auto Product 0

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IBAO Releases New Foundational eLearning Course on the Ontario Auto Product

The first course of a new line of education—IBAO Fundamentals—that guides brokers into new and familiar areas of insurance from the ground up Toronto, ON (Aug. 3, 2023) – The Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario (IBAO) has released a new eLearning course, Auto Foundations: SABS for Personal and Commercial Lines Brokers. The two-part course covers technical content, risk management and client considerations through a modern, learner-centric experience. “This Statutory Accident Benefits (SABS) course is foundational, meaning individuals can come into it with minimal experience on the topic—ideal for brokers who have recently obtained their RIBO Level 1 License and are working with Personal Lines clients,” said Kevin O’Hare, Education Manager & Lead Instructional Designer. “It covers the transition to more complicated Commercial Lines clients. By the end of the course, brokers will be better positioned to educate their clients and have confidence offering optional benefits for Ontario Auto insurance.” The course is structured in two sections, with workbooks to track key take-aways, assessments to test knowledge and printable summary pages for retention. The first section—delivered by Jo Anne Mitchell, CIP, from Effective Training & Communications Plus—dives into technical personal lines content, explaining how each Ontario Auto benefit works, its limits,...