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Black Sea Shipping Traffic Drops 35% After Russia, Ukraine Warnings

Article 0 Comments The number of ships looking to pick up grain cargoes from the Black Sea area has fallen 35% this week versus the previous week with growing uncertainty over whether commercial traffic could be hit as Russia continues to pound food facilities in Ukraine. Moscow’s direct attacks on Ukraine’s grain for four days running followed a vow by Kyiv to defy Russia’s naval blockade on its export ports following Moscow’s withdrawal earlier this week from a UN-brokered safe sea corridor agreement. Russia said it would deem all ships heading for Ukrainian waters to be potentially carrying weapons from Thursday, in what Washington called a signal it might attack civilian shipping. Kyiv later responded by issuing a similar warning about ships headed to Russia. Black Sea Threats Escalate as Ukraine Warns on Russian ShipsRussia Issues Warning to Any Ships Traveling to Ukraine’s Black Sea Ports “We believe the aggressive rhetoric is likely to lead to a reduction in owners willing to traffic in the region and creates further complexity with respect to insurance availability,” Jefferies analyst Omar Nokta said in a shipping note on Friday. The number of dry bulk vessels ranging from the smaller handysize to supramax sized...

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Jury Awards Florida Girl Burned by McNugget $800,000 in Damages

Article 0 Comments New You can now listen to Insurance Journal articles! A South Florida jury awarded $800,000 in damages to a little girl who received second-degree burns when a hot Chicken McNugget fell on her leg as her mother pulled away from the drive-thru of a McDonald`s restaurant. Lawyers for the family of Olivia Caraballo, who was 4 when she was burned in 2019, were seeking $15 million in damages. Jurors reached their verdict after deliberating for less than two hours on Wednesday, the South Florida SunSentinel reported. The jury`s verdict form allotted $400,000 in damages for the past four years, and another $400,000 for the future from the McDonald`s USA and its franchise operator, Upchurch Foods. A separate jury decided in May that the company and franchise owner were liable for the injury, which occurred outside a McDonald`s in Tamarac, near Fort Lauderdale. “I’m actually just happy that they listened to Olivia’s voice and the jury was able to decide a fair judgment,” Olivia`s mother, Philana Holmes, told reporters outside the courtroom. “I’m happy with that. I honestly had no expectations, so this is more than fair for me.” She testified on Tuesday that Olivia, now 8, calls...

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New Study Supports Private Equity in 401(k)s

What You Need to Know Pension plans have benefited in recent years from their use of private equity and other illiquid investments, according to a new report. The success raises the question of whether 401(k) plans should follow suit now that many investors utilize target date funds. The report suggests 401(k) investors would likely benefit from such a development. Illiquid asset classes such as private equity and real estate investments represent a missed opportunity for retirement plan investors to improve total-return performance, increase diversification and reduce volatility of asset values, according to an analysis from the Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown University. The report suggests workplace defined contribution retirement plans could (and probably should) take a page out of the modern pension plan playbook by utilizing such asset classes, arguing many pensions have benefited in recent years by redeploying a modest portion of their assets away from traditional stock and bond investments. According to the report, U.S. pension plans outperformed the average return of defined contribution plans by 1.80% per year from 1998 to 2005, which the authors call “an enormous gap.” From the 2007 to 2016 period, however, DC plans had narrowed the gap to 0.46%, with most of...

Solera Unveils Web Browser-based Intelligent Triage, Revolutionizing First Notice of Loss 0

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Solera Unveils Web Browser-based Intelligent Triage, Revolutionizing First Notice of Loss

Solera launches a plug-and-play based artificial intelligence service to help insurers make fast and accurate triage decisions based on damage photos and accelerate claim resolution Westlake, TX (July 11, 2023) – Solera Global Corp is pleased to announce the launch of its groundbreaking web browser-based Intelligent Triage solution, eliminating the need for extensive integrations or software installations. This global visual intelligence service empowers claims handlers to swiftly and accurately assess whether a damaged vehicle is repairable or a total loss, right from the First Notice Of Loss (FNOL). Insurers can simply add this solution to their current claims handling workflow, test drive with us and then if desired, can fully automate the triage process through API integration. Key Highlights: Early identification of probable total losses, leading to prompt action and effective resolution Intelligent triage compatibility with any estimating platform Streamlined processes to save loss adjusters’ time, especially for intricate cases Prompt identification of potentially unsafe-to-drive vehicles Improved policyholder safety and heightened satisfaction throughout the claims experience AI powered by an extensive image database, continuously learning and improving Smooth API integration with any existing claims management systems Policyholders can now submit photos of their damaged vehicles at the first contact with...

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UN Could Start Removing Oil This Week From Decaying Yemen Tanker

Article 0 Comments An operation to start removing some 1.1 million barrels of oil from a decaying tanker moored off Yemen’s coast could start by the end of the week, the United Nations said on Tuesday. U.N. officials have been warning for years that the Red Sea and Yemen’s coastline were at risk as the tanker Safer could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster off Alaska. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said a vessel to which the oil will be transferred is less than 2 miles (3km) away and “making final preparations to moor next to the Safer, with ship-to-ship transfer of oil expected at the end of the week.” Another vessel is already alongside the Safer to help with the transfer of oil. The Dangerous $140M Mission to Defuse an Oil Tanker Ready to Explode The war in Yemen caused suspension of maintenance operations on the Safer in 2015. The U.N. has warned that the ship’s structural integrity has significantly deteriorated, and it is at risk of exploding. The U.N. has said the cleanup of a spill could cost $20 billion, Yet it has struggled to raise the $129 million needed to remove the...

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SEC Would Add 83 Examiners With Budget Boost

The Securities and Exchange Commission would use its 2024 budget boost in a Senate appropriations bill to add 83 additional full-time examiners, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler told senators Wednesday. The Appropriations Committee appropriated $2.4 billion to the SEC, $194 million more than the fiscal year 2023 enacted level and close to $73 million less than the budget request. That cut back on the agency’s ability to add about 170 additional positions, Gensler said. The agency’s fiscal 2024 request would help the SEC Examinations Division grow to 1,144 full-time examiners, “allowing it to keep pace with the market challenges of the last decade,” Gensler told the senators during a Senate Appropriations Financial Services and General Government hearing, held Wednesday. “The majority of this increase relates to full-year funding for those staff positions authorized and hired in FY 2023,” Gensler told the senators. The “SEC is 3% larger than it was in 2017,” he said. Meanwhile, from 2017 through 2022, “the number of clients of registered investment advisers grew nearly 70% from 34 million to 57 million,” he said. “During that same period, average daily trading in the equity markets more than doubled from more than 30 million transactions to more than 77 million.”...

Navacord’s Benefits Practice adds Belay Advisory in Alberta 0

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Navacord’s Benefits Practice adds Belay Advisory in Alberta

Toronto, ON (July 11, 2023) – Navacord is pleased to announce their recent partnership with Belay Advisory. Based in Edmonton and Calgary, Alberta, Belay Advisory is a full-service benefits consulting and wealth advisory firm. The founding companies were established in 1998 and grew to become Belay Advisory in 2006, now servicing Albertan employers, entrepreneurs, and families alike. Belay Advisory draws inspiration for their business approach from the meaning behind the mountaineering term of belay: to protect and provide security. “We were drawn to Navacord because of their decentralized model that fosters strong entrepreneurial spirit, which has always been a cornerstone of our success at Belay,” says John Goode, Partner, Belay Advisory. “Our dedication to our local clients and communities is paramount, and Navacord allows us to strengthen this commitment while also providing us the enhanced resources to support our clients and team through the future.” Benefits, retirement, and wealth and financial planning is pinpointed as a designated area of strategic growth for Navacord. As Canada’s fourth largest commercial brokerage, Navacord continues to prioritize amplifying their presence in this sector to create a leading national practice that provides their clients from coast-to-coast with unmatched group benefits, wealth and retirement services in...

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New Mexico Jury Awards $485M in Case of Girl Sexually Assaulted in Foster Care

Article 0 Comments A jury has awarded $485 million in damages in a civil case brought on behalf of an 8-year-old girl who was repeatedly sexually assaulted in a New Mexico foster care program. The verdict came late last week after Rio Arriba County jurors heard nearly two weeks of testimony that focused in part on allegations of corporate negligence. The program allegedly placed the girl in the home of a foster parent despite knowing that he had been accused of sexual assault, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in 2019. It was one of more than a half-dozen cases arising from sexual assaults of children in the program. Clarence Garcia, 66, pleaded guilty in January to seven counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and was sentenced to up to 20 years of probation. Court records show Garcia was accused of sexually abusing six children under his care over six years. In April, probation officers found that Garcia allegedly violated his probation after they searched his property and found bags of stuffed animals, a yoga book “with young children in suggestive poses” and accessories for firearms. He faces an Aug. 3 sentencing hearing that could send him...

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5 Top Trends From Merrill Q2 Results

“Lindsay and I continue to see this commitment to clients and growth firsthand,” he told reporters. “We’re seeing it firsthand as we’re out on the road meeting with our teammates, our advisors, our client associates, market executives and our specialists.” So far, the two of them “have been in over 20 markets, from Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Palo Alto, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, and many others,” he noted. “And this has really proven to be valuable time and it’s helped us even further inform our thoughts around strategy.” 4. Merrill’s new strategy has three pillars. “Pillar number one is that we will deliver more for our clients that will deepen,” Hans said. “Pillar number two is we’re going to increase our growth and investment in our advisors. And, number three, we’ve got to continue this pace at which we’re attracting new clients.” 5. Five trends will have a major impact on the U.S. wealth management sector. Hans highlighted what she said are “5 key trends” that Merrill thinks will “define and shape wealth management in this country going forward.” The first is that the “pace of wealth creation in this country is not going to slow down,” she said. Second, “we see technology...

Westland Insurance acquires Sigurdson Financial Benefits Inc. 0

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Westland Insurance acquires Sigurdson Financial Benefits Inc.

Westland continues growing across Canada with an acquisition in Manitoba Toronto, ON (July 6, 2023) – Westland Insurance, one of Canada’s largest independently-owned brokerages, is pleased to announce that it has acquired Sigurdson Financial Benefits Inc., effective July 1st. The addition of this brokerage to the Westland family furthers its reach across Canada and expands its benefits insurance offerings. Sigurdson Financial Benefits Inc. is a benefits brokerage that’s been in business for over 50 years. Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, they offer financial planning, group benefits, life, and living benefits insurance. Sigurdson Financial Benefits adds even more depth to Westland’s growing benefits practice and further cements its position as a leading full-service Commercial brokerage in Canada. “I’m thrilled to welcome the Sigurdson team to Westland,” says Jamie Lyons, Westland’s President & CEO. “With this top-notch brokerage joining our team, we’re able to expand our offerings and deepen our national capabilities in the group benefits space. Their expertise and focus on exceptional client service align perfectly with our vision to be Canada’s favourite broker, especially as we continue to grow in the financial broader services segment.” Westland continues to invest in and grow its business in Canada, both organically and through strategic...