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Article 0 Comments A federal judge decertified on Monday a class action by tens of millions of Apple customers who accused the company of monopolizing the market for iPhone apps by banning purchases outside its App Store, leading to higher prices. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, reversed her February 2024 class certification ruling, which let Apple account holders who spent $10 or more on app or in-app content within the last 17 years sue as a group. In decertifying the class, Rogers said the plaintiffs failed to provide a model “capable of reliably showing classwide injury and damages in one stroke” by matching Apple accounts to consumers, while limiting the number of “unharmed” consumers in the class. She ruled after an expert hired by Cupertino, California-based Apple found “alarming” errors in the plaintiffs’ model. These included one that named plaintiff Robert Pepper and supposed claimant “Rob Pepper” were different people despite sharing home addresses and credit card information. They also included the lumping together of more than 40,000 payment records for people whose first name was “Kim,” but who otherwise had nothing in common. DISAPPOINTED PLAINTIFFS TO REVIEW NEXT STEPS Mark Rifkin, a lawyer for the...
Toronto, ON (Oct. 17, 2025) – QuickFacts has expanded their cyber insurance resources through a new partnership with BOXX Insurance, giving brokers faster access to prevention-first solutions for one of today’s most pressing risks. As QuickFacts’ first dedicated cyber carrier, BOXX combines advanced threat prediction, risk prevention, and comprehensive coverage in one package, helping brokers support clients before, during, and after a cyber incident. Cyber attacks are now among the top threats facing small to mid-sized businesses and families. BOXX focuses on making these groups digitally resilient by pairing smart security technology with real-time threat intelligence and insurance backed by top-rated partners. Through QuickFacts, brokers can search and compare BOXX’s cyber offerings instantly, saving time while expanding their ability to meet growing client demand. “We know that cyber is an important coverage for our broker partners, and one that changes more often than traditional coverages,” said Michael Lai, Business Development Manager at BOXX Insurance. “QuickFacts is one more way we can keep our shared broker partners up to date with the latest information and resources, so they don’t have to waste time hunting for the answers they need.” From phishing and ransomware to data breaches, BOXX’s team of experts in...
/ ThinkAdvisor provides financial advisors, registered investment advisors and wealth managers with comprehensive coverage of the products, services and information they need to guide their clients in making critical wealth, health and life decisions.
Article 0 Comments U.S. carrier Alaska Airlines said it had restored operations after a technology outage that grounded flights across the country and forced it to cancel more than 400 flights, disrupting travel for more than 49,000 passengers. Alaska Air Group said Oct. 24 it planned to take immediate actions to upgrade its IT systems after the failure at its primary data center, adding it did not yet have an estimate of the financial impact the disruption may have on its fourth-quarter results. Shares of the airline closed down 6% in heavy volume on Friday. “We’re working to get everyone to their destinations as quickly as we can,” it said, adding “this level of performance is not acceptable.” An IT outage had also forced the airline to ground all its flights for about three hours in July, which trimmed roughly 10 cents from its third-quarter profit per share. Alaska Air said that, following the disruption in July, it had taken action to improve its IT systems, “but this failure underscores the work that remains to be done to ensure system stability.” “(We are) immediately bringing in outside technical experts to diagnose our entire IT infrastructure to ensure we are as...
/ ThinkAdvisor provides financial advisors, registered investment advisors and wealth managers with comprehensive coverage of the products, services and information they need to guide their clients in making critical wealth, health and life decisions.
/ ThinkAdvisor provides financial advisors, registered investment advisors and wealth managers with comprehensive coverage of the products, services and information they need to guide their clients in making critical wealth, health and life decisions.
Article 0 Comments Bishop Street Underwriters announced the rollout of Bishop Street Program Managers (BSPM), an incubator for developing managing general agents (MGA). Embedded within Bishop Street’s ecosystem and backed by its $600 million gross written premium platform, BSPM promises to provide the infrastructure, back-office capabilities, capital capacity and insurer relationships to jumpstart the launch of specialty MGAs as quickly as 90 days. As part of BSPM, which is a RedBird Capital Partners portfolio company, underwriters will be able to benefit from Bishop Street’s shared services model across compliance, technology, distribution and data analytics, with support from an embedded AI-enhanced underwriting workbench. BSPM offers a a turnkey system setup customizable to specific niches. To support the rollout of BSPM, Bishop Street has also announced executive leadership hires for BSPM: Luke Porter, president of BSPM – A career underwriter and industry veteran with specialized experience implementing and managing de novo programs and insurtech platforms, Porter will lead Bishop Street’s MGA incubator. He joins from Mission Underwriters, where he managed program rollout and expansion efforts across the firm’s portfolio. Andrew Shrout, CPCU, chief strategy officer, – Strout has decades of experience in strategic marketing, organizational transformation and operational sustainability to drive BSPM’s...
Article 0 Comments Delaware’s workers’ compensation insurance rates paid by employers will decrease for the ninth year in a row, effective December 1. The voluntary private market average loss costs are expected to drop by 11.6%, while the residual market for high risk businesses that can’t purchase coverage in the voluntary market, will see an average rate reduction of 9.08%. In announcing the rate decision, Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro indicated that there has been “meaningful movement” to the voluntary market from the residual market over the last several years. The announcement follows Navarro’s confirmation of the Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau (DCRB) filing by independent actuaries, and a public hearing with DCRB and the State’s Ratepayer Advocate. Actual savings will vary by policy. The latest decreases continue a downward pricing trend in the state : For December, 2024 the state approved a voluntary market average loss cost cut of 8.4%, and a residual market reduction of 9.21%. In December 2023, the voluntary market loss costs decreased 7.24%, while residual market rates fell 11.18%. In December 2022, there was an overall voluntary market decrease of 10.96%, along with revisions to rating values, and an overall decrease to residual market rates of 16.14%....
/ ThinkAdvisor provides financial advisors, registered investment advisors and wealth managers with comprehensive coverage of the products, services and information they need to guide their clients in making critical wealth, health and life decisions.
