Monthly Archives: <span>January 2024</span>

New FEMA Rules Aim to Cut the Red Tape of Disaster Recovery

Anyone who has lived through a natural disaster and then applied to the federal government for assistance knows that it can be a lengthy, frustrating and bureaucratic process. New rules announced Friday by the federal agency in charge of emergency …

Allstate Names Fiato Executive Vice President and Chief Claims Officer

Allstate named Mike Fiato executive vice president and chief claims officer. Fiato will oversee the strategic and operational direction of the claims organization, which employs more than 16,000 employees globally and handles more than 6.5 million claims annually. Fiato has …

Kentucky Supreme Court Says Medical Experts May be Needed, Even in Negligence Claims

When a baseball umpire, well-traveled in college baseball conferences, went to a hospital for X-rays on his surgically repaired ankle in 2015, a hospital attendant pushing the ump’s wheelchair accidentally bumped his foot against a desk. The question that has …

NRDC Report: Repeatedly Flooded Homes Demonstrate Policy Failures

A rapidly increasing number of federally insured properties flooding repeatedly signals the need for state and federal action to improve protections for homeowners, a new Natural Resources Defense Council analysis shows. NRDC used data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency …

Report: Hawaii, Florida Deadliest States for Two-Wheeled Vehicles

Hawaii followed by Florida are the most dangerous states for two-wheelers, with either a pedal or motor-bike involved in nearly one third of fatal crashes in Hawaii, a new report shows. The study, commissioned by Florida-based personal injury law firm …

Kansas Court System Seeks $2.6M to Recover from Cyberattack

The Kansas court system needs at least $2.6 million in additional funds to recover from an October cyberattack that prevented the electronic filing of documents and blocked online access to records for weeks, the state’s top judicial official told legislators …

USGS: Nearly 75% of U.S. Could Experience A Damaging Earthquake

Nearly 75% of the U.S. could experience damaging earthquake shaking, a recent U.S. Geological Survey report shows. A USGS-led team of more than 50 scientists and engineers in the latest USGS National Seismic Hazard Model created a color-coded map that …

Airstrikes on Yemen Bring New Level of Chaos to Shipping in the Southern Red Sea

The US and UK’s decision to hit back at Houthi militants after weeks of attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea has only escalated the chaos across the shipping industry, underscoring the threat of an enduring supply-chain crisis as …

Secondary Perils Drive Global Insured Losses to Estimated $123B in 2023: Gallagher Re

Non-peak (secondary) perils and record-setting weather and climate events drove global insured losses from natural catastrophes to an estimated $123 billion in 2023, the fourth consecutive year to exceed $100 billion, according to Gallagher Re’s annual Natural Catastrophe and Climate …

10 Largest Auto Insurers Each Raised Rates by Double Digits in 2023

According to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s RateWatch, Farmers Insurance instituted double-digit rate increases in 43 states in 2023 for a weighted average rate increase of 17.6%—and its private-auto insurance peers in the U.S. did the same. All 10 of the …