The recently enacted $1.2 trillion U.S. infrastructure package is expected to result in more business opportunities for surety companies given the new and sizable investments that the transportation and energy sectors will see, according to a new AM Best report. The new law includes $550 billion in new spending on infrastructure over the next five… Continue reading New Infrastructure Law Expected to Boost U.S. Surety Market: AM Best
Author: Farkas Laura
Hub International Acquires The Spofford Group Insurance Brokerage, Ltd.
Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage and financial services firm, announced today that it has acquired the assets of The Spofford Group Insurance Brokerage, Ltd. (The Spofford Group). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Located in Hingham, Massachusetts, The Spofford Group is an independent brokerage firm that provides banks, private equity… Continue reading Hub International Acquires The Spofford Group Insurance Brokerage, Ltd.
Shipping and Logistics Costs Expected to Keep Rising in the Year Ahead
Companies are bracing for even steeper increases in shipping and logistics costs next year, after supply-chain costs skyrocketed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Transportation and logistics providers are looking for significant price increases for contracts in the coming year, indicating that the inflationary pressure caused by high demand and limited capacity in freight markets is likely… Continue reading Shipping and Logistics Costs Expected to Keep Rising in the Year Ahead
EPA to Raise Fuel-Efficiency Requirements for Cars and Light Trucks
The Biden administration increased fuel-efficiency standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks in an effort to combat climate change and push the auto industry toward electric vehicles. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on Monday that it would require automakers to achieve a fleetwide average of 55 miles per gallon by model year 2026,… Continue reading EPA to Raise Fuel-Efficiency Requirements for Cars and Light Trucks
Vaccine Mandates Leave Employers Confused
The Biden administration’s marching orders in November seemed clear: large employers were to have all of their employees fully vaccinated by early next year, or have them tested weekly. However, a little more than a month later, the Labor Department’s vaccine rule has been thrown into disarray and uncertainty by legal battles, shifting deadlines, and… Continue reading Vaccine Mandates Leave Employers Confused
Catastrophe Claims 48% Above Average by End of November: Jefferies
Jefferies analysts reported that insured natural disaster losses are 48 percent higher than the long-term average as of the end of November, and 34 percent higher than the 10-year average. According to Jefferies, it now appears certain that insured catastrophe losses will be far higher than the annual totals for the previous three years, despite… Continue reading Catastrophe Claims 48% Above Average by End of November: Jefferies
WTW Designs Parametric Solution to Help Build Resilience of Sovereign Borrowers to Climate Shocks
Willis Towers Watson designed and placed the world’s first parametric insurance transaction, assisting the Government of Belize in completing a ground-breaking debt restructuring for marine conservation. The insurance protection, underwritten by reinsurer Munich Re, was critical in allowing Belize to refinance its sovereign debt through The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation program.… Continue reading WTW Designs Parametric Solution to Help Build Resilience of Sovereign Borrowers to Climate Shocks
Private Louisiana Insurer to Assume Policies from Insurance Companies in Receivership
According to Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, a Louisiana licensed insurer plans to acquire all policies from Access Home Insurance Co. and State National Fire Insurance Co., two insolvent homeowners insurance companies placed into receivership by the Louisiana Department of Insurance (LDI) in November. With the takeover, an estimated 30,000 Access Home and State National Fire… Continue reading Private Louisiana Insurer to Assume Policies from Insurance Companies in Receivership
Judge Overturns Deal Giving Purdue Pharma’s Sackler Family Civil Immunity from Opioid Claims
The billionaire Sackler family that created the company could not be released from legal claims over the opioid epidemic, according to a federal judge who has upended the bankruptcy plan of OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma. In a 142-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon in New York said that the controversial provision to grant the… Continue reading Judge Overturns Deal Giving Purdue Pharma’s Sackler Family Civil Immunity from Opioid Claims
Amazon Workers Claim They Never Received Disaster Planning in the Wake of Tornado Deaths
Some Amazon workers across the country are claiming that the company never offered them disaster training, according to The Intercept. The comments came after a tornado ripped through an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, last week, causing the building to partially collapse and killing at least six employees. In the days following the collapse, workers… Continue reading Amazon Workers Claim They Never Received Disaster Planning in the Wake of Tornado Deaths