Author: completebodyneeds

Glass shards flew everywhere as Eric Gockel waited out one of the worst hailstorms to hit Missouri. One of the softball-size hunks of ice that hit the Springfield area on Tuesday measured 4.75 inches (12 centimeters). The hail killed an emu at the zoo, injured some drivers, knocked out power to thousands and damaged hundreds of vehicles and even some aircraft. “I feel blessed that I came out unscathed,” Gockel, whose windshield was battered as he waited in his car along the side of a highway for the storm to pass, said Wednesday. Severe spring weather is plaguing the South…

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has submitted a September 1, 2026, pure premium rate filing to the California Insurance Commissioner proposing advisory pure premium rates that will be on average 10.4% above the average approved September 1, 2025 advisory pure premium rates. The WCRIB’s proposed advisory pure premium rates are based on insurer losses and loss adjustment expenses incurred during accident years 2025 and prior. According to the WCIRB, drivers of the change include increased frequency of cumulative trauma claims as well as higher medical costs and allocated loss adjustment expenses. Once the CDI schedules a public…

The Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation celebrated more than $670,000 in IICF Community Grants awarded across the region to 78 nonprofit partners at its 11th annual IICF Western Division Horizon Award Gala. The event was held drew insurance leaders from across the Western U.S., along with IICF’s nonprofit partners, to celebrate their efforts to help local communities. The IICF Western Division also bestowed its Golden Horizon Award on Loren Nickel, director, business risk and insurance at Alphabet Inc., parent company of Google. The IICF Golden Horizon Award honors those within the insurance community who have demonstrated philanthropic leadership. Nickel’s risk and…

A New Jersey jury has awarded $5.2 million to a Watchung man who suffered spinal injuries after being hit in an accident in a Costco parking lot in 2017. The jury rejected the claim by the other driver and his insurer that the injury was caused by the man lifting his 12-pound dog, not by the accident. On October 22, 2017, Marc Ferrara was in his car waiting in line for gas at the Costco in North Plainfield. When he opened his door to exit his car to check on his child in the back seat, he was struck by…

A businessman accused of stealing more than $50 million from hundreds of people in upstate New York as part of a massive Ponzi scheme pleaded guilty this week to charges stemming from the fraud, according to the state attorney general. Miles “Burt” Marshall faces four to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree grand larceny, securities fraud and first-degree scheme to defraud, according to the attorney general’s office, which secured an indictment against him last summer. Marshall, 74, prepared taxes and sold insurance in the quaint village of Hamilton, near Colgate University. For decades, he also took money…

Historically, executing decisive, effective workers’ compensation claims has been a work in… well, compensation. As in compensating for holes in data that, if available or accessible, would help deliver far more expedient, cost-effective and successful outcomes for all parties. These holes create blind spots in how carriers, third-party administrators and self-administered employers understand claimants’ injuries. And these blind spots tend to result in delayed treatment, longer duration, and higher costs. Largely, this is because workers’ compensation claims have always been defined by variability. No two injuries are identical, no two workers bring the same medical history, and no two recovery…

A Kentucky insurance agent charged with swiping premium payments from a church pleaded not guilty this week. Glen David Ramey, of Murray, Kentucky, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in district court on May 13, the Murray Ledger and Graves County Sheriff’s Office reported. Ramey, 59, owner of David Ramey Insurance in Murray, was charged with fraud in early April. Leaders of the Yahweh Baptist Church reported some suspicions to the sheriff on March 16, after receiving a cancellation notice from an insurance carrier, local news sites reported. Investigators said the church asked Ramey to produce a run-loss report, which…

A band of severe storms bearing down on central Texas has raised concerns about flooding, with heavy rains expected near the site of last year’s deadly Fourth of July floods. An ariel view of flash flood damage along the banks of the Guadalupe River on July 11, 2025 in Kerrville, Texas. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump traveled to Texas one week after flash flooding along the Guadalupe River swept through cities, mobile home parks and summer camps, killing 120 people. Ninety-six of those killed were in Kerr County, where the toll includes at least 36 children. Photographer:…

Two new products on the market could help reduce losses and property insurance claims in storm-prone parts of the Southeast and beyond, makers announced recently. Flood Risk America, based in Lake Worth, Florida, said it has expanded its flood protection lineup with three new systems: Hinged flood gates, permanent flood doors, and fabric flood barriers. The gates allow entry-point protection for properties without blocking daily access, the firm said in a news release. The doors are designed to provide watertight protection when closed, but normal access in routine use. The barriers are made of what the company calls Aqua Fabric,…

First quarter 2026 underwriting income in American International Group’s (AIG) General Insurance segment increased nearly 220% compared with the prior year, to $774 million. Financial results for the first three months of the year included catastrophe losses of $180 million, compared with $525 million a year ago, plus favorable net prior year development of $132 million versus $64 million in Q1 2025. The combined ratio for the General Insurance unit—which includes North America commercial, international commercial, and global personal—was 87.3 in Q1 2026 compared with 95.8 for Q1 2025. “We delivered impressive top-line growth with net premiums written increasing 24%…