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

Study Looking at NHTSA Data Shows Fentanyl is Road-Safety Problem on the Rise

A new study shows fentanyl is potentially becoming a road-safety problem. The study, from researchers at Jerry, a car insurance savings app, examined crash, drug test and population data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration between 2018 and 2021. …

Massachusetts Couple Charged With $627K in Workers’ Compensation Fraud and More

A Hopkinton, Massachusetts couple has been arrested and charged in connection with separate schemes to defraud their workers’ compensation insurance carriers, the Small Business Administration (SBA) and their mortgage lender. According to the U.S. Attorney, Ronaldo Solano and Adriana Solano …

US Health Regulators Open Probe in UnitedHealth Cyberattack

US health authorities are investigating whether the cyberattack on UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s Change Healthcare unit involved a breach of personal health information. The Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights opened the probe into the company’s compliance …

Meta Loses Second Bid to Thwart FTC’s Revisions to Privacy Pact

Meta Platforms Inc.’s lost its second court ruling this week seeking to stop the Federal Trade Commission’s reopening a 2020 privacy settlement over allegations that the company breached the terms. In a ruling Thursday, US District Judge Randolph Moss in …

Survey: 78M Americans Damaged Their Smartphones in the Last Year

The amount of money spent on cellphone screen repairs surged to $8.3 billion in 2023, nearly tripling the amount spent in 2018 ($3.4 billion), according to new research by Allstate Protection Plans. Researchers found that 49% of American smartphone owners …

Bayer Weighs ‘Texas Two-Step’ Bankruptcy Filing Over Roundup

Bayer AG is weighing whether to use a controversial legal maneuver known as the Texas Two-Step bankruptcy to try to resolve tens of thousands of US lawsuits claiming its Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, according to people familiar with its thinking. …

Viewpoint: The Imperative of Long-Term NFIP Reform

In the wake of a record-shattering $28 billion-dollar extreme weather and natural disaster season in 2023, the U.S. finds itself at the mercy of an increasingly volatile climate. As hurricanes grow fiercer, sea levels rise and rainfall patterns shift, one …

NFIP Pays $364M on Idalia Claims. Florida Bill Requires Flood Disclosure to Buyers

The National Flood Insurance Program has paid out $364 million on flood claims from Hurricane Idalia, the storm that swamped part of Florida in August. That’s a fraction of the $3.2 billion NFIP paid after Hurricane Ian, a much larger …

Insurers, Insureds Must Collaborate to Get Ahead of Social Inflation

Executive Summary: Setting up mock jury trials, taking cases to trial and refraining from issuing “hammer” letters to lower-layer insurers are just three of the strategies Aspen’s Chief Claims Officer Tony Rai suggests that insurers start undertaking—in concert with their …

Winning Over the Policyholder: How Claims Can Help Improve Carriers’ Relationships with Insureds

Many years ago, as the holiday season wrapped our home in a festive embrace, a tranquil evening turned into a night we’d never forget. Our family was enjoying the warmth and peace of the season when a fire broke out, …