Author: completebodyneeds

Lee Boyd Alacrity Solutions Group LLC, headquartered in Fishers, Indiana, promoted Lee Boyd to chief operating officer (COO). Backed by over two decades of experience in the insurance industry, Boyd joined Alacrity in 2021 and has held the roles of vice president of TPA Operations and, most recently, president of claims operations. In that role, he spearheaded the Alacrity Intelligence Initiative, a company-wide effort to modernize the AI-powered technology underpinning claims operations, driving measurable performance gains across the business. As COO, Boyd oversees Alacrity’s operational strategy across claims and business functions, working closely with the executive leadership team to drive…

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced that a contractor has pled guilty to defrauding consumers through his residential contracting business. Gene M. Matlock, owner of Matlock Construction, pled guilty on August 17 to one felony count of deceptive business practices and one felony count of stealing. According to the investigation, Matlock solicited large, upfront payments from consumers for home‑construction and contracting services. After receiving payment, he either performed negligible work before abandoning the projects or failed to complete any work or deliver any materials, leaving customers without the services they paid for and facing significant financial losses. As part of…

Elected officials and industry leaders warn that Texas is at the “precipice” of running out of underground space to dispose of the nearly 1 billion gallons of wastewater that oil and gas production generates every day in the Permian Basin. The toxic wastewater, known as produced water, is usually injected underground into disposal wells. But these wells have increased underground pressure, triggering earthquakes and blowouts. Instead of underground injection, the oil industry is now seeking alternatives to treat and reuse produced water. Industry experts made clear last week, at a legislative hearing in Austin and a conference in Midland, that…

For more than a year, a 31-year-old Fort Lauderdale gas station attendant was able to defraud Progressive Insurance of more than $44,700 before the insurer and state authorities caught up with him, according to an arrest affidavit. The scheme worked like this: In 2024 and 2025, Adam Mahmoud Otrok used family members’ and co-workers’ identification information to submit false insurance applications on luxury vehicles that he did not own, investigators’ court filings and the Florida Department of Financial Services explained. He would send electronic premium payments to Progressive from an empty bank account then would immediately stop payment, cancel the…

Insurance broker Willis Towers Watson (WTW) is accusing rival Lockton Companies and 18 former employees of WTW’s Northeast construction insurance team of engineering a “smash and grab” operation that began on August 19. On that day, 18 members of WTW’s Northeast construction team, including senior leadership, resigned between 8:02 am and 8:46 am, according to the WTW complaint filed in Superior Court in Boston on Monday. Also, according to the WTW complaint, within 48 hours the departed employees had taken 13 WTW clients worth more than $5 million in annual revenue with them to Lockton, along with confidential business information.…

Crews have started to contain a wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Reno, Nevada, that destroyed more than 30 homes as it spread perilously close to dense neighborhoods, officials said Monday. Containment reached 27% and there was no new growth of the Hawk Fire, which has held steady at about 23 square miles (60 square kilometers) since it burned out of control on Sunday, authorities said at an afternoon news briefing. “We are making progress,” said U.S. Forest Service District Ranger Matt Zumstein. The number of residents under evacuation orders and warnings was reduced to about 63,000, down from…

A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Monday rejected auto parts maker First Brands’ proposal to pay back creditors by pursuing litigation against insiders, instead converting the case to a more straightforward Chapter 7 liquidation. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said that First Brands’ proposed Chapter 11 plan was not acceptable, in part because it sought to defer payment on at least $222 million in debts racked up during the company’s bankruptcy. First Brands owes billions more from before its bankruptcy, and its efforts to sell off business lines generated only a fraction of what it owes to its creditors. “Unfortunately, time…

Australian miner Fortescue Ltd. has suspended an executive over sexual harassment allegations, and engaged law firm MinterEllison to conduct an independent investigation into the matter. The incident is being treated “extremely seriously” and the employee is being stood down while the probe continues, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. “Sexual harassment, unlawful discrimination and any behavior that makes people feel unsafe have no place at Fortescue.” The iron ore producer, led by billionaire Andrew Forrest, is already facing a class action lawsuit filed in July that alleges it failed to protect female workers from sexual harassment and discrimination…

The National Council on Compensation Insurance is recommending a 7.4% average rate decrease for workers’ compensation insurance, voluntary market, in Florida. If approved by state regulators, it would mark the 10th straight year of decreases, in line with most U.S. states that have seen a steady decline in worker injuries, claims and loss costs. “This is welcome news for Florida’s small businesses that continue to report hiring challenges throughout the state,” Bill Herrle, executive director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said in a statement this week. “Small business owners are increasing wages to attract workers, and as these…

Chinese hackers are ramping up attacks after integrating DeepSeek and other open-source artificial intelligence models into their operations, highlighting attackers’ ability to leverage basic AI tools to hit targets abroad. State-affiliated cyber groups more than doubled the amount of attacks they carried out since they began delegating mundane tasks to AI and using it to develop advanced malicious software, according to TeamT5, a Taiwanese research firm. Researchers said it wasn’t always possible to identify the AI model they used, but in general DeepSeek’s offerings are popular with hackers in the country because of its high performance and ability to be…