Monthly Archives: <span>September 2017</span>

Insurer Says It Shouldn’t Have to Pay for Medical Marijuana in Maine Case

The Maine supreme court on Wednesday began considering whether a paper millworker left suicidal by narcotic painkillers should receive workers’ compensation for medical marijuana. It’s the first time the court has considered the question of insurance reimbursement for medical marijuana. …

New York Couple Charged With $750,000 Hurricane Sandy Relief Fraud

A Staten Island, N.Y., couple was charged with making false statements to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in connection with their obtaining more than $750,000 in disaster relief …

East Coast Could Feel Effects of Hurricane Jose Next Week

Hurricane Jose may threaten New York City and other areas of the East Coast by next week, according to a National Hurricane Center advisory. The storm, about 640 miles (1,029 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, strengthened into a …

Cat Loss Update: 3 Weeks Post-Harvey

Three weeks after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, claims tallies and the storm’s financial impact are beginning to be calculated. The Insurance Council of Texas estimated $19 billion in insured losses resulting from Hurricane Harvey. The ICT reports massive …

Farmers Insurance Adjusters Camp Out to Process Texas Harvey Claims

To process tens of thousands of auto and property claims with losses already well into the billions of dollars, insurance companies have adjusters camping out across Texas. The Houston Chronicle reports in one case, the adjusters – many of whom …

Determining Where and Whether to Rebuild After Hurricanes Irma, Harvey

Though our natural instinct is to put everything back exactly where it was before a disaster, Mark Abkowitz, professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Vanderbilt Center for Environmental Management Studies said people need to seriously rethink …

Self-Driving Boats Coming Soon

Self-driving cars may not hit the road in earnest for many years – but autonomous boats could be just around the pier. Spurred in part by the car industry’s race to build driverless vehicles, marine innovators are building automated ferry …

FEMA Insurance Chief Says Harvey NFIP Losses Could Reach $11B

The head of the National Flood Insurance Program said Wednesday early estimates show Hurricane Harvey will result in about $11 billion in payouts to insured homeowners, mostly in southeast Texas. That would likely put Harvey as the second costliest storm …

Irma Spawned Unusual Storm Surges on Both Florida Coasts

Hurricane Irma’s devastating storm surge came with weird twists that scientists attribute to the storm’s girth, path and some geographic quirks. A combination of storm surge, heavy rains and swollen rivers sent some of the worst flooding into Jacksonville, Florida, …

Business News: State Auto, Aon, Travelers

State Auto Insurance Group Announces Review of Strategic Alternatives for Its E&S Business The State Auto Insurance Group (State Auto) announced it is undertaking a review of strategic alternatives for its Excess and Surplus (E&S) Lines business, including a possible …