Author: completebodyneeds

Just a week after revealing a $1.5 billion deal to acquire U.S.-based Safety Insurance Group, Spain’s Mapfre has announced a deal closer to its European roots—taking a 38.9% stake in the Spanish insurtech Tuio. The Tuio stake strengthens Mapfre’s commitment to innovation and digital business development, according to a statement from the Spanish-owned global insurance company. Tuio became a recognizable name to insurance industry professionals worldwide earlier this year, when the insurtech received approval from OpenAI for the first insurance provider–built AI application on ChatGPT devoted to home insurance. (Editor’s Note: At about the same time, Insurify launched a ChatGPT…

Elon Musk’s company xAI has sued Minnesota over the state’s first-in-the-nation law that bans “nudification” technology on websites and apps, potentially providing a test for how far states can go in constitutionally regulating the use of artificial intelligence. Musk’s company sued Monday in federal court, days before the law is set to take effect Saturday and make Minnesota the first state to try to outlaw the increasingly proliferating technology that lets people use AI to to create fake nude images of real people. The law was signed in May. In the 38-page lawsuit, xAI — whose AI model chatbot and…

Texans’ access to a variety of hemp-derived THC products will significantly narrow on Friday. Texas will ban several hemp-derived THC cannabis products, including those containing delta-8 and delta-10 THC variants, punishing people in possession of them with jail time and fines. However, delta-9 THC, the most commonly sold THC product in Texas, will remain legal. This is the latest blow to the state’s hemp industry, which has been consumed with uncertainty over the last several months as flurries of court of actions have ripped products off shelves and then put them back on. The recent change stems from a Texas…

State Farm Mutual Auto will soon begin issuing $136 million in dividends to Louisiana drivers. The carrier informed the Louisiana Department of Insurance that eligible customers will receive an email between early August and early September asking them to select a payment method. Dividends apply to customers who had a State Farm private passenger auto voluntary preferred policy in force as of Dec. 31, 2025. Customers who don’t have an email address on file will receive a check in the mail. Customers with more than one vehicle insured by State Farm may receive more than one dividend payment. The payments…

AM Best has revised the outlooks to stable from negative of the companies collectively referred to as Mid-Hudson Group (MHG) and domiciled in Montgomery, New York. At the same time, the ratings agency affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “bbb-” (Good) of the same companies: Claverack Cooperative Insurance Co., Midrox Insurance Co., and Mid-Hudson Co-Operative Insurance Co. AM Best analysts explained that the revised outlooks to stable from negative reflect improvements in MHG’s operating profitability as well as its risk-adjusted capitalization, in 2025 and continuing in 2026. The revision also recognizes…

UCA General Insurance Services Inc., promoted Vijayalakshmi Balakrishnan to vice president, controller. Balakrishnan joined UCA’s accounting team in 2022. In her new capacity, she leads the accounting department and joins the company’s management team. She previously served as an accountant at Solaris Computers Private Limited. UCA also promoted of Jessica Lemon to vice president of underwriting. Lemon has served in a succession of roles at UCA for more than 25 years, demonstrating underwriting, technical and management skills throughout her tenure. UCA is headquartered in Cypress, California. Topics Underwriting Was this article valuable? Yes No Here are more articles you may…

Twin City Fire Insurance Co. says it is not obligated to cover a Virginia employer’s $10 million punitive damages penalty for racial bias because the company’s behavior was found by a jury to be intentional. The employer, Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM, is seeking to trigger the employment practices liability (EPL) insurance coverage in its Twin City policy. Twin City is seeking a judicial declaration that it is not obligated to indemnify SHRM. The insurer, a member of the Hartford Fire and Casualty Group, argues that its policy specifies that insurability of punitive damages shall be governed by the…

Edison International CEO Pedro Pizarro told investors “no other viable alternatives have appeared” to explain what caused a massive wildfire in the Los Angeles area last year other than equipment owned by the company’s Southern California utility. The company now believes that “absent additional evidence, it is likely that its equipment was associated with the ignition of the Eaton Fire,” according to a quarterly filing Thursday. Related: Edison Rejects Blame for LA Fire Tied to Tower Idle Since 1971 That’s a change from the prior quarter, when Edison used the same language but said “could have been” instead of “was.”…

U.S. consumers are steering clear of some restaurant chains and buying less lettuce in grocery stores as a multistate outbreak of a parasitic disease fuels confusion over what is safe to eat, according to foot traffic data and industry sources. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has linked the outbreak of cyclosporiasis to iceberg lettuce that was served at Taco Bell restaurants and sourced from privately held Taylor Farms’ operations in central Mexico. But cases have continued to rise even after Taylor Farms said it removed all potentially affected products from the marketplace. The increase has stoked uncertainty and fears…

Europe’s insurers are bracing for a new era of catastrophe risk fanned by rising temperatures in the world’s fastest-warming continent. Insurers, reinsurers and brokers contacted by Bloomberg are already predicting increased premiums and bigger losses tied to natural catastrophes. Importantly, they don’t see the latest bouts of extreme heat as a temporary shock, but as a long-term trend. The industry is “actively evaluating” the extent to which the rise in temperatures “represents a fundamental shift in Europe’s catastrophe risk landscape,” said Will Bruce, global head of climate risk consulting for Aon Plc, the world’s second-largest insurance broker. Read more: France…