Author: completebodyneeds

The owner and operator of an unlicensed prize insurance company who for years avoided paying claims, ignored cease and desist orders, and has been convicted of illegal sales and theft has pleaded guilty to fraud. Kevin Kolenda of Norwalk, Connecticut this week pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal district court, according to David X. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Kolenda’s jury trial was set to begin on September 23. The federal charges against him were brought in April 2024. During the years Kolenda engaged in his illegal conduct, neither Kolenda nor his entities were licensed to…

Waddingham Joins MEMIC Group as New Jersey Production Underwriter The MEMIC Group, headquartered in Portland, Maine, added Brandon Waddingham to its Northeast underwriting team as a production underwriter. Waddingham joins MEMIC with nine years of insurance experience. In his role, he partners with independent agents and brokers throughout New Jersey to evaluate new and renewal opportunities, underwrite and price accounts, and identify market opportunities that support profitable growth. RT Specialty Promotes O’Marra to Regional Director RT Specialty, the wholesale brokerage division of Ryan Specialty, promoted John O’Marra to regional director and appointed him to its executive leadership team. With more…

Amazon Web Services cannot restore access to its cloud-computing facility in Bahrain and one of three data–hosting zones in the United Arab Emirates following damage during the Iran war, according to a status update seen by Reuters on Tuesday. Amazon’s cloud computing unit AWS said the damage in Bahrain spanned multiple so-called availability zones, which are clusters of one or more data centers in the same geographic region. “The damage to our infrastructure spanned multiple Availability Zones and exceeded what our regional and multi-AZ services are designed to withstand,” AWS said in the status update, which Reuters was first to…

Ukraine is examining whether additional insurance cover for ships carrying food exports could help revive seaborne trade disrupted by Russian attacks on vessels and port infrastructure, a farm lobby group and a major farmers’ union said on Wednesday. Since the summer, Russia has sharply stepped up attacks on Ukrainian seaports and commercial vessels, effectively halting the country’s seaborne exports. Ukraine traditionally shipped about 90% of its export cargo through Black Sea ports. The disruption has already cut agricultural exports by 60%, jeopardizing the 2027 planting campaign and subsequent harvest. Ukraine produces roughly three times more grain than it consumes domestically.…

The European Union will set up a “climate insurance alliance” to help pay for losses as global warming increases the frequency and intensity of droughts, floods and wildfires. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the initiative as part of her state of the union address Wednesday, saying that only a quarter of catastrophe losses are privately insured, and that the costs therefore fall on national budgets. A climate resilience framework, due next month, will map 100 of the most vulnerable regions in the bloc, she added. The initiative comes after record-breaking heat waves triggered wildfires across Europe this…

AXA SA Chief Executive Officer Thomas Buberl called on France’s next president to address the country’s debt mountain with structural reforms and rejected a far-left plan to cancel bonds as “dangerous.” The euro area’s second-biggest economy is under intense scrutiny, with a runaway deficit, soaring interest costs and faltering growth. Repairing public finances has become a key issue in campaigning ahead of next spring’s presidential elections. “This new government will have to address the structural issues with reforms in order to get the budget into a better balance,” Buberl told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday. “Increasing taxation year after year will…

Abbott Laboratories agreed to pay $385 million to settle U.S. allegations related to poor manufacturing practices at two facilities, including one involving an investigation of a contaminated facility that made powder infant formula. The accord resolves claims that the company caused U.S. and state programs to buy powdered formula made in a way that put the products at “an unacceptable risk of microorganism contamination and significantly impacted” their “reliability, quality, and safety,” the Justice Department said in a statement Monday. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found unsanitary conditions at an Abbott factory in Sturgis, Michigan, during a 2022 visit that…

Bacteria that cause potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease were found in a Yankee Stadium cooling tower — one of 10 such towers in the Bronx that tested positive amid several reported cases of the illness including one death, New York City health officials said. The city’s Health Department said Sunday that more tests were being done to determine whether the Legionella bacteria in the towers was live, and the Yankees said none of the current Legionnaires’ disease cases in the area has been linked to the stadium. Only live bacteria can cause the disease, which is a form of pneumonia. The…

Linda Jones Marsh appointed Linda Jones as U.S. healthcare industry practice leader, Marsh Risk, effective today. Based in Washington, D.C., Jones reports to Darren Cromwell, industry practice group leader, Marsh Risk, U.S. and Canada. In this role, Jones will drive healthcare strategy and client engagement for Marsh’s risk business. Jones has been advising health systems, hospitals, managed care, and other providers groups on their risk management strategies for 40 years. She joined Marsh in 2018 and most recently served as US Healthcare Growth & Innovation Leader. She succeeds Gisele “Gigi” Norris, who will shift her focus to her role as…

IT consulting firm Accenture will pay $25 million to settle U.S. government allegations over diversity practices, which President Donald Trump’s administration has targeted in his second term in office. “Accenture shall pay to the United States $25,000,000, inclusive of civil penalties and interest on the Settlement Amount at a rate of 4% per annum from September 9, 2026,” the settlement agreement made public on Monday said. It was signed by the U.S. Department of Justice and Accenture. The Trump administration has penalized public and ⁠private organizations, from government agencies to universities, over DEI practices that civil rights advocates say help…