District attorneys in and around New York City have prosecuted only a handful of drivers for staged crashes, including DAs in counties where insurance costs are among the highest in the state - a finding that undermines Hochul's argument that fraud is leading to what she calls New York's "high" insurance costs.
According to a 2025 MetLife personal injury study, the severity of injury plays a significant role in determining a settlement amount both in terms of economic and non-economic damages. As such, the MetLife study found that on average, the amount of settlement money a personal injury litigant receives is about $324,000.
Our view is that large-language model digital agents can effectively do a non-immaterial portion of the work currently provided by 20-30k independent agents across the United States. The core of the firm's bearish thesis centers on a massive pool of routine, low-complexity insurance policies.
The agreement will provide financial relief to many policyholders while ensuring continued coverage for State Farm policyholders while California's insurance market stabilizes. State Farm argued the emergency hike was necessary because catastrophic fire losses jeopardized its financial ratings. The company has reported that it paid out $6.2 billion in claims last year, largely from the wildfires, with most of the costs covered through reinsurance payments.
We're seeing more frequent, more severe extreme weather events and that inevitably affects claims and affects pricing it can't not. And this is happening all over the globe. More, after this week's most important reads.
Insurance is often one of those bills people think about only when premiums rise or a loss makes it necessary to review. Not updating a policy can cost you vastly more money than just paying a slightly higher premium, be that car insurance, home insurance or life insurance, to name a few. Rather than waiting to find out what coverage you have, brokers and other insurance experts offered some moves you should make as soon as possible.
Increases in the cost of delivering healthcare continue to be a challenge for health insurers and these rising costs are outpacing general inflation. Consequently, the price of medical care, medicines and treatments is increasing at a higher rate than everyday household expenses.
Industry NewsOn January 26, a bipartisan coalition of Oregon lawmakers introduced Senate Bill 1593, also known as the Oregon Recreation Commerce and Affordability Act of 2026 (ORCA), for consideration in the upcoming legislative session, which begins on February 2. "Oregon is facing an affordability crisis in recreation and health and fitness," Senator Mark Meek (D-Oregon City) said in a press release. "Prices are rising, businesses are closing, insurers are leaving-and Oregon
Last November, two Washington residents filed a lawsuit accusing petroleum corporations of misleading the public for decades about fossil fuels' effect on climate change and how global warming is harming the planet and its inhabitants. Their lawsuit marks the latest addition to the growing number targeting Big Oil. The case, however, was novel, given the plaintiffs' damage claims: That increased carbon emissions from fossil fuel burning have intensified extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods and heat waves.
In the second amended complaint, Guo claims that after she was the victim of identity theft, the financial institution and credit bureau defendants continued to report and attempt to collect fraudulent debts after she provided proof of the fraud. In doing such she alleges that they violated federal and California consumer protection laws by failing to properly investigate and correct her credit reports.
The average U.S. home insurance premium increased 24% between 2021 and 2024, according to the Consumer Federation of America outpacing inflation by 11% over the same period. Looking ahead, 82% of homeowners expect their premiums to rise in 2026. Most anticipate modest increases: 43% expect hikes of 1% to 5%. Another 29% expect increases of 6% to 10%, while 16% expect premiums to rise by more than 10%, the report said.
