Articles by Chad Hemenway

Chubb CEO Greenberg: Some Financial Lines Underwriting Practices ‘Simply Dumb’

According to Chubb CEO Evan G. Greenberg, the insurance industry’s underwriting practices for a number of financial lines are “simply dumb.” In a call with analysts to discuss Chubb’s earnings for the first quarter, Greenberg said rates for financial lines …

Jury Awards $80M to 3 Former Zurich NA Employees for Wrongful Termination

Zurich North America was ordered by a California jury to pay three former employees a total of about $80.2 million to end a wrongful termination case earlier this month. Melinda Brantley, Nicholas Lardie, and Daniel Koos worked as claims examiners …

AIG Sues Newly Launched Dellwood Insurance and Its Founders

American International Group and a group of its excess and surplus lines subsidiaries have filed suit against Dellwood Insurance Group and three former AIG executives who launched the nationwide E&S lines insurance holding company about a month ago. According to …

SEC Charges 2 Investment Firms, Doles Out $400,000 in Fines, for ‘AI Washing’

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week said it settled charges against two investment advisers related to “AI washing.” The firms, Delphia Inc. and Global Predictions Inc, will pay a total of $400,000 in civil penalties for making false …

25 Straight Quarters of Premium Increases for Commercial Lines, Survey Shows

Overall commercial property/casualty premiums increased slightly for all account sizes to 7% on average in the fourth quarter 2024, continuing a trend that has now last more than 6 years. According to The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers’ Q4 …

Allstate Reports $276M in January Cat Losses, Updates Rate Increases

Allstate Corp. on Thursday reported January pretax catastrophe losses of $276 million. The Northbrook, Illinois-based insurer reached its $150 million threshold to report catastrophe losses following several months of low totals. Consolidated catastrophe losses for the fourth quarter 2023 totaled …

Nearly a Decade After Breach, Home Depot Appeals to Get Defense Costs From CGL Policies

Think cyber events don’t have long tail? Consider this: Home Depot is still in a legal battle to get $50 million in coverage from two insurers nearly a decade after hackers used point-of-sale machines to hack the retailer. In a …

Allianz D&O Outlook: ESG Claims ‘Here to Stay’ and AI Rapping at the Door

While everyone may be talking about potential risks associated with generative artificial intelligence, a new directors & officers report from Allianz highlights a range of current concerns associated with environmental, social, and governance issues. Agree or not with the premise …

Federal Cyber Insurance Backstop Is Warranted With Focus on Catastrophic Risk

Much more work and collaboration needs to be done but the U.S. Treasury has reached a “tentative conclusion” that a potential federal cyber insurance backstop will be focused on catastrophic cyber risk. “We will remain focused on the policy options …

American Family Shuts Down Systems After Detecting ‘Unusual Activity’

American Family Insurance shut down “several business systems” after the insurer said it “detected unusual activity in a portion of its network.” In an email to Insurance Journal, the Madison, Wisconsin-based insurer said its technology teams discovered the activity last …