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Article 0 Comments The U.S. auto safety agency is shedding more than 25% of its employees under financial incentive programs to depart the government offered by the Trump administration, according to data provided to Congress seen by Reuters. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, part of the Transportation Department, is shrinking from 772 employees as of May 31 to 555 under the program. The Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration are also both losing more than 25% of their staff. Representative Rick Larsen, top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, expressed concerns about the cuts, questioning how USDOT can “expedite project delivery and advance safety with a decimated workforce.” Overall, USDOT is losing just over 4,100 employees dropping from nearly 57,000 to 52,862, with the Federal Aviation Administration shedding 2,137 and falling from about 46,250 to 44,208. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that the department did not cut any safety-critical employees and is actively seeking to add air traffic controllers. USDOT and NHTSA did not immediately comment. It is unclear if the Transportation Department still plans to conduct a layoff program on top of the early retirement departures. NHTSA has a number of ongoing investigations into...
By Hanna Beydoun, Insurance Bureau of Canada — Severe weather is getting worse. And we are all paying the price. That’s why Canada’s home, auto and business insurers are leading the way, advocating for solutions and helping Canadians adapt. It’s all part of our plan to protect the things we love. Canada’s home, auto and business insurers are there for their customers after a disaster, helping people put their lives back together. The insurance industry is foundational to the strength, resilience and success of the Canadian economy by helping minimize financial losses. The insurance industry employs over 140,000 people in communities across the country. They stand ready to help customers recover in the event of severe weather – and to help minimize the risks before severe weather hits. Crucially, there are a number of steps you can take to protect yourself and your property now. Learn more about each category of risk from Insurance Bureau of Canada: Fire and Wildfire Protection: Wildfires and fires are a real and present danger. Do what you can to help mitigate risk and protect your family, home and business. Water Damage and Flood Protection: Flooding and related sewer backup damage is costly for homeowners,...
Article 0 Comments How hot can a heat wave really get? Before June 2021, scientists thought they knew. That’s when one of the most extreme heat spikes ever observed hit western North America, leaving at least 1,400 people dead. Lytton, British Columbia, smashed the 84-year-old Canadian heat record on June 26, reaching 46.6 C (116F). And it smashed that the next day by 1.3C. And smashed that the next day by another 1.7C. And the next day, Lytton burned to the ground. When a team of climate scientists assembled days later to analyze the heat wave, they found that the local historical weather data offered a paradox: Their standard approach for estimating a heat wave’s rarity concluded that the new records were too extreme to occur in the region where they actually did. They were in a sense “impossible” even though they actually occurred, as three American scientists put it earlier this year. Read more: Extreme Heat Is Killing European Workers Despite Government Efforts They adjusted their method to accommodate the new reality (and use that approach still), but noted that “follow-up research will be necessary to investigate the potential reasons for this exceptional event.” In the four years since...
Toronto, ON (July 15, 2025) – CSIO is pleased to announce that five insurers have achieved CSIO’s Compliance Certification by eliminating all Z-Codes (non-standard coverage codes): Algoma Mutual – a division of Integrated Mutual Insurance Group; Axiom Mutual Insurance Company; Edge Mutual Insurance Company; North Blenheim Mutual Insurance Company; Usborne & Hibbert Mutual Fire Insurance Company. The Certified insurers have demonstrated that they only use CSIO Standard codes in their data exchange services with their broker partners. Eliminating Z-Codes allows brokers to interpret policy data quickly and easily in their Broker Management System, leading to greater efficiency, more time savings and an enhanced customer experience. Additionally, this achievement has resulted in insurers improving their CSIO Standards Certification Rating for Personal Lines. The Ratings were developed by CSIO’s Standards Governance Advisory Council to highlight organizations’ commitment to adopting CSIO Data Standards to benefit brokers. “By earning Compliance Certification, these five insurers have achieved significant progress in advancing Data Standards to increase broker productivity,” said Kathryn Sinclair, Interim President at CSIO. “Together, CSIO and the industry are committed to eliminating Z-Codes, ensuring data accuracy and seamless connectivity in the P&C broker channel.” CSIO works closely with insurers to eliminate Z-Codes by mapping them...
Article 0 Comments The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday it would cut funding for a national network of centers that have supported thousands of small- and mid-sized farm and food businesses. The cuts are another hit to farmers from President Donald Trump’s effort to shrink the size and cost of the federal government. The administration has previously canceled programs for local foods and food banks and climate-friendly farming, among others. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement that the agency was terminating the Regional Food Business Centers program because they were not financially sustainable. Four of the 12 centers will close immediately, and the remaining eight have the option to continue managing existing grants through next May, Rollins said. “USDA will honor existing commitments for over 450 grants to farmers and food businesses to ensure planning decisions on the farm can continue as normal, however stakeholders should not plan on this program continuing,” she said. The USDA under former President Joe Biden spent $400 million to open the centers as part of its effort to increase resilience and competition in the U.S. food supply chain. The centers have provided training or technical assistance to more than 5,500...
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Article 0 Comments WTW Appoints Lockner as Strategic Client Advisor to AAIS Team in North America Cecelia Lockner Willis, a WTW business headquartered in London, appointed Cecelia Lockner as senior director, strategic client advisor within the North America alternative asset insurance solutions (AAIS) vertical. Lockner has over 15 years of experience advising private equity, hedge fund and corporate clients across all insurance coverages. She joins Willis from Goodwin Procter LLP, where she was a partner in the complex litigation and dispute resolution practice. Earlier in her career, Lockner worked at a brokerage firm where she specialized in placing complex representation and warranty insurance programs. WTW Names Thibault ICT Director Cedric Thibault WTW, headquartered in London, appointed Cédric Thibault as director to its insurance consulting and technology (ICT) business, expanding its Hamilton, Bermuda, office. Thibault is responsible for identifying areas for revenue growth and leading high-performing client delivery teams. Thibault has over 20 years of experience in both life and annuities, insurance and reinsurance, including strong expertise in the Bermuda and Barbados markets. He most recently served as a senior manager with KPMG Canada’s Life Practice. Before KPMG, Thibault held various senior roles with Munich Re in Germany and Canada. Topics...
BYD makes safety pledge for cars with proprietary assisted driving in China Shenzhen, Guangdong, China (July 14, 2025) – Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD has announced in a Weibo post that it will take responsibility for any losses to cars using its “God’s Eye” Level-4 Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) for self-parking: the automaker will cover all repair costs, third-party property damage, and personal injury compensation resulting from malfunctions or algorithm errors in its autonomous parking system. “We are first in the world to propose a guarantee for autonomous parking,” the company wrote in Chinese (translated by the Fast Company). The announcement represents a significant development in automaker liability practices – and a first for Level‑4 self-parking technology – as it allows drivers to bypass the conventional insurance claims process entirely for scenarios involving the God’s Eye system: damages will be handled directly through BYD by after-sales service staff. BYD announced in February that it had achieved Level-4 autonomous parking, which means drivers can take their hands, eyes and minds off the driving task under certain defined conditions; the Chinese multinational automotive company is only the second company to achieve Level-4 autonomous self-parking, following Mercedes-Benz. The BYD approach may even...
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