Author: completebodyneeds

Iran is battling an oil spill off Qeshm Island, underscoring the environmental risks posed by attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf. Satellite images show a dark, elongated trail in waters off the coastal village of Shib Deraz — a breeding ground for endangered hawksbill sea turtles — as well as black deposits on the beaches. The semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency reported that a cleanup was underway. The risk of spills in the Gulf has increased with multiple assaults on tankers during the five-month US-Iran war. The International Maritime Organization, which keeps a tally of damage to ships, says…

British maritime security company Ambrey said on Thursday it has been engaged in the salvage of the stricken tanker Caroline Bezengi off the Omani coast and that salvage vessels are en route to support the operation. The Caroline Bezengi tanker, carrying an estimated 800,000 barrels of Russian oil and under international sanctions, ran aground on June 30 near an Omani marine nature reserve that is home to wildlife including Arabian Sea humpback whales and Socotra cormorants. Ambrey said it was working with stakeholders in Oman and has contracted a leading international oil spill response firm. Read more: Oman Says Spill…

This article is part of a sponsored series by Risk & Insurance Education Alliance. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic forced organizations around the world to rethink how work got done, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance was no exception. Like many employers, we transitioned our workforce to remote operations almost overnight. At the time, it was a temporary solution to an unprecedented challenge. Six years later, we’re still remote and intentionally so. What started as a necessity became an opportunity to evaluate how we worked, how we collaborated, and what truly mattered. As we looked at our performance, team…

Australia’s industrial umpire has approved new minimum standards requiring food and grocery delivery workers to be paid hourly rates above the national minimum wage and covered by injury insurance while on the job. Gig workers will be paid at least A$31.30 ($22.11) an hour, above Australia’s minimum wage of A$26.44, while remaining responsible for maintaining third-party insurance for vehicles used for deliveries, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) said in an order issued late on Tuesday. Companies will be required to provide “a reasonable minimum level of cover” for personal accident insurance, although the order did not specify a minimum level…

A specialty homeowners program serving high-value homeowners is coming to California and Colorado. Green Shield Risk Solutions is expanding its Guardian Elite Home, a non-admitted homeowners program for affluent primary and secondary residences, in California and Colorado. The rollout is occurring alongside the launch of Compass, an agent portal the company said is designed to simplify quoting, submissions and account management. The Guardian Elite Home program offers expanded capacity across all ZIP codes in California and Colorado, Coverage A limits of up to $7 million and total insured values of up to $10 million. The program, which is backed by…

Firefighters who responded to a fire at a Maine lumber mill used tactics that inadvertently contributed to a massive explosion that killed three people, according to a report from federal investigators. The fire companies tried to extinguish the May 15 fire inside a silo at the Robbins Lumber mill in rural Searsmont, Maine, by injecting it with water — unaware of warnings from the manufacturer that doing so would be dangerous. The silo then blasted skyward like a rocket as flames and a shock wave from the explosion hurled workers and firefighters away. The firefighters didn’t know, the National Institute…

Lindsay Clancy messaged one of her caregivers less than two months before she killed her three young children in 2023 to say she was having “intrusive thoughts I never had before,” “feeling completely hopeless” and worried about becoming addicted to some medications. Rebecca Jollotta, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at South Shore Health Perinatal Behavior Health Program, testified at the trial Tuesday she exchanged messages with Clancy regularly on a patient portal throughout in late November and December 2022. Much of their conversations revolved around Clancy reporting trouble sleeping, depressive symptoms she was having and her search for the right mix…

The Florida Surplus Lines Association installed its new officers and directors this week at what the association said was a record-breaking annual convention in St. Petersburg. “Our industry plays a vital role in helping Florida businesses and consumers find coverage for unique and evolving risks, and I’m excited to build on the strong foundation laid by those who came before me,” said new FSLA President Tonya Rivera, who is vice president of Southeast sales for the Johnson & Johnson wholesale brokerage. Other officers and directors installed this week include: President-Elect: Bresch Kilday – Starwind Community Associations and personal lines Treasurer:…

Amynta Group, an insurance services firm and managing general agent based in New York, said it has acquired Southern States Underwriters and SSC Insurance Agency, based in Richmond, Virginia. The underwriter and agency are the insurance operations of Southern States Cooperative, a 103-year-old agricultural retail and service co-op that supports farm and related operations in six Southern states. Southern States Underwriters is a managing general underwriter offering property and liability coverage for suppliers and distributors in agriculture, the companies said in a news release. It also is the attorney-in-fact for Southern States Insurance Exchange, a reciprocal insurer for the agribusiness…

West Virginia is one of the deadliest states for house fires, killing an average of 32 people per year between 2009 and 2023. An audit of the State Fire Commission in December of 2025 noted that the commission hadn’t compiled a state-mandated plan to prevent these deaths. Testifying before a Government Organization Committee in December, State Fire Marshal, Ken Tyree Jr. said that he did not realize his agency was supposed to produce one comprehensive plan before the recent audit. He said his office is drafting the document now and plans to finish it in the Fall of 2026. It…