Articles by Kara Carlson

Tesla Sued by Family of Electrician Who Died at Austin Facility

The family of a Texas man who died while working at Tesla’s Austin-area facility last week is suing the electric vehicle company and his employer. The lawsuit said the worker, Victor Joe Gomez Sr., was at the facility on Aug. …

How California’s Homeowners Insurance Crisis is Affecting Brokers

A growing homeowners insurance crisis for Californians is straining brokers who must work harder to get increasingly expensive and more frequently unavailable coverage for their clients, a crisis many of them blame on regulations and wildfires. Wildfires have made the …

California Wildfire Outlook: ‘A Challenging Season for Firefighters’

While the official start to California’s wildfire season is still a ways off, the best forecast of what’s ahead may be to look back on the year so far, and so far it’s been far busier for firefighters than last …

Experts: Atlantic Hurricane Season Potential on Par with 2005, 1995

Atlantic hurricane risk in the U.S. continues to increase “substantially as oceanic and atmospheric conditions reach a point where tropical cyclone formation” is becoming increasingly favorable, putting the season’s outlook on par with some past massive and destructive seasons, storm …

Business Liability Claims Litigation Jumped in 2023: Lex Machina

After holding relatively steady for nearly a decade, the number of business liability policy claims cases jumped 28% in 2023, according to a litigation report from Lex Machina. The report found that 3,596 business liability cases covering third-party claims regarding …

Potent Hurricane Weather Pattern Continues to Take Shape, Forecaster Says

The hurricane season continues to look like it will be a highly active one, as a potent and portentous weather pattern continues to take shape, an AccuWeather meteorologist told Claims Journal on Friday. “It certainly looks like it’s going to …

32.7M Homes at Risk of Hurricane Damage, Report Shows

More than 32.7 million residential properties are at risk of moderate or severe damage sustained from hurricane-force winds from Texas to Maine, a new report shows. The large number of at-risk homes in CoreLogic’s 2024 Hurricane Risk Report, which comes …

Report: Vehicle Complexity, Labor ‘Reshaping’ Auto Insurance and Collision Repair

New technologies and rising labor costs are putting pressure on auto insurance carriers and auto repairers by making repairs more costly and increasing repair times, trends that a new report asserts are “reshaping” the industries. The bottom-line message: Newer vehicles …

Clearcover Launches Generative AI Tool Aimed at Expediting Claims Processing

Clearcover launched a generative AI tool the company said is designed to further digitize statement collection, significantly streamlining the insurance claims process and customer experience. The AI-driven tool uses large language models (LLMs) to guide a conversational experience immediately following …

Early Estimate of Tropical Storm Hilary’s Damage and Economic Loss: $9 Billion

AccuWeather’s preliminary estimate of the total damage and economic loss from Tropical Storm Hilary in the U.S. is $7 billion to $9 billion. Hilary brought widespread flooding through Southern California, washing out roads and bridges, flooding cars and homes, and …