Featured Articles Blog

McFarlan Rowlands Welcomes DJE & Associates 0

Uncategorized

McFarlan Rowlands Welcomes DJE & Associates

Belleville, ON (Aug. 19, 2025) – McFarlan Rowlands Insurance, a division of McDougall Insurance Brokers Ltd., is pleased to announce it has acquired DJE & Associates Inc. (which operates as Sutherland Elliott Insurance Brokers, Gaiser Elliott Insurance Brokers and Thames Financial – and is known collectively as DJE & Associates). With offices across western Ontario, DJE & Associates provides general P&C brokerage and other financial services to its client base. “We’ve always held DJE & Associates in high regard,” says McFarlan Rowlands president Jason Schneider. “They’ve always done things the right way – and we know that joining the forces of McFarlan Rowlands and DJE & Associates will be of tremendous benefit to our collective customers, carriers and staff.” This strategic acquisition marks another step forward in the company’s continued growth following the 2023 combination of McFarlan Rowlands and McDougall Insurance. Together we’re expanding our reach while staying true to what matters most: personal service, local expertise, and strong relationships with our clients and communities. Clients of DJE & Associates will continue to work with the same trusted advisors they know, now backed by the scale, technology, and resources of McFarlan Rowlands and the broader McDougall Insurance Group. There are...

0

Uncategorized

Cyberattack on Evertec’s Sinqia Hits HSBC, Others in Brazil

Article 0 Comments Hackers on Friday broke into Sinqia, a financial technology provider owned by Evertec, attempting to steal around 420 million reais ($77.4 million) from several Brazilian financial institutions including HSBC Holdings Plc’s local operations, O Globo reported. Cyber criminals invaded Sinqia’s systems used by Brazilian financial institutions and attempted to make several transfers through a fast-growing electronic payments system known as Pix. Sinqia confirmed the attack but said there was no evidence of suspicious activity in any system besides Pix. Sinqia is working to rebuild the affected systems with enhanced controls and will only put Pix back online pending a review from the central bank, it said in a statement on Saturday. Hackers sought to divert around 380 million reais from HSBC, O Globo said, adding the Brazilian central bank managed to block 350 million reais from the attack. It did not say what happened to the rest. HSBC confirmed the incident in a statement, saying “no customer accounts or funds were impacted by the operation and measures have been taken to block these transactions.” This is not the first time Brazilian financial institutions have suffered such breaches. In July, hackers attacked C&M Software, siphoning hundreds of millions...

0

Uncategorized

4 Myths About Bank-and Company-Owned Life Insurance

/ 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.

0

Uncategorized

Docupace Unveils AI Roadmap for Wealth Management

/ 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.

0

Uncategorized

Prior Authorization Is Coming to Traditional Medicare

/ 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.

0

Uncategorized

Uber, Lyft Drop Opposition to California Driver Union Bill

Article 0 Comments Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. agreed to back a state-supervised way for California drivers to unionize and collectively bargain on industry-wide pay and benefit guarantees, under a new legislative deal that provides the companies relief on insurance costs. Legislative leaders and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Friday announced support for a pact that includes passing a driver bargaining bill (AB 1340) as well as the rideshare industry-backed SB 371, which lowers the amount of uninsured motorist insurance the state requires the companies to carry for drivers. The Service Employees International Union sponsored AB 1340. The bargaining bill is similar to a ballot measure Massachusetts voters passed in November. Some states have turned their attention to securing bargaining rights for drivers while fights persist in courts and legislatures over ride-hail drivers’ classification, pay, job protections, and benefits. Related: Uber Says New York City Courier Rule ‘Singles Out’ Immigrant Workers State-level agreements create a model for drivers to organize and negotiate a labor contract outside the federally supervised union rights provided by the National Labor Relations Act, which doesn’t cover them since they’re classified as independent contractors instead of employees. AB 1340 won’t change gig drivers’ legal status...

0

Uncategorized

Wells Fargo Adds Alternatives to Personalized UMAs

/ 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.

0

Uncategorized

France and Germany Reject Trump’s Threats on EU Tech Legislation

Article 0 Comments France and Germany on Friday defended Europe’s right to adopt its own legislation on technology after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized European rules on digital services, saying any U.S. coercion would be met with retaliation. Trump on Monday threatened to slap additional tariffs on all countries with digital taxes, legislation or regulations, saying they were designed to harm or discriminate against American technology, in an escalation of his criticism of EU rules on digital services. Speaking at a joint news conference with the German leader, French President Emmanuel Macron rejected the threats, and said any move by the United States to challenge the bloc’s regulations would be met with retaliation from the EU. “Tax and regulation issues are the preserve of our national parliaments and the European parliament,” Macron said. “We won’t let anyone else decide for us,” he said. “Should such measures be taken, it would qualify as coercion and prompt a response from the Europeans,” he added, referring to the EU’s anti-coercion instrument, which allows the bloc to punish countries seeking to pressure it to change its policies. The Trump administration has consistently criticized the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which seeks to curb the power...

0

Uncategorized

Katrina’s Legacy: Louisiana Fortifies Itself Against the Next Storm

Article 0 Comments When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southern Louisiana 20 years ago, the region was ill-prepared for the 125 mph winds and catastrophic flooding that would follow. Louisiana, like the rest of the United States, was still adopting modern international building codes, which had just gone into effect a few years prior. “The good wind protections that we now all sort of take for granted in building codes didn’t come into place until 2002,” said Michael Newman, general counsel for the International Institute for Building & Home Safety (IBHS). “It’s maybe not so surprising that Louisiana wasn’t up to date at that time.” Louisiana lawmakers addressed building codes promptly by holding a special session in December 2005. Legislators passed a measure establishing a mandatory statewide building code in line with the International Code Council (ICC). Kathleen Blanco, then governor of the Pelican State, and various insurance groups supported the effort to establish a uniform building code, while opponents claimed it would drive up construction costs and would be hard to implement on a local level. Jim Donelon, the former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner, credits Blanco for having the political will to push statewide building codes through the legislature. “That...

0

Uncategorized

Canada’s 2023 Wildfires Pushed Air Pollution to Decade-Level Highs

Article 0 Comments Canada’s record-breaking 2023 wildfire season led to a spike in air pollution in the country and in the US, erasing recent progress in cleaning up the air, according to new analysis. The wildfires, which burned 42 million acres of Canadian forest, contributed to air-pollution levels not seen since 1998 in Canada and not seen since 2011 in the US, said researchers at the University of Chicago, which carried out the analysis for its Air Quality Life Index, a measure of how air pollution affects life expectancy. More than half of Canadians breathed air that exceeded the country’s national clean air standards, an increase from less than 5% in the previous five years. And this year ranks as the second worst on record for wildfires in Canada, behind only 2023. Fires also are worsening air quality in the US and Europe. Globally, air pollution from fine particulates released by sources including vehicles, power plants and industry increased slightly in 2023. There’s growing evidence that fossil fuels are reversing progress in improving air quality by increasing the likelihood and severity of wildfires, as well as contributing to air pollution when they’re initially burned, the researchers said. Air pollution can...