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☆ Why car insurance costs are skyrocketing and leading to higher inflation
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-11 | by ( Michael Wayland | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

RobertCrum | Getty ImagesDETROIT – Skyrocketing auto insurance costs helped contribute to inflation accelerating at a faster-than-expected pace in March and are adding to the ever more expensive costs for U.S. vehicle owners. Auto insurance costs have been on the rise for some time, growing every month as part of the index since December 2021. However, auto insurance remains a small portion of the CPI, with a 2.85% weighting. watch nowThe insurance cost increases on inflation come more than two years after the Biden administration largely blamed used car prices for pushing inflation higher in January 2022. The cost of vehicle insurance — which is mandatory in almost every state — varies by provider, driver, coverage and location.

Persons: Sean Tucker, Kelley, David Sampson, Sampson, Biden, Mitchell, Power, —, it's, Price, Mark Garrett, — CNBC's Robert Ferris, Jeff Cox Organizations: Getty, DETROIT, U.S, Auto, U.S . Bureau of Labor Statistics, American, Casualty Insurance Association, CNBC, Progressive, Power's U.S . Auto Insurance, State Farm, Liberty Mutual Locations: U.S, Power's U.S, Geico, .

☆ Mike Lynch-backed legal tech startup Luminance raises $40 million, capitalizing on AI hype
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-02 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Mathisworks | Digitalvision Vectors | Getty ImagesLegal technology firm Luminance has raised $40 million in fresh funding from investors to grow its U.S. footprint, capitalizing on the wave of investor interest surrounding artificial intelligence. The company told CNBC that it raised the fresh capital in a Series B funding round led by U.S. venture fund March Capital. "We had lots of interest from lots of VCs," Eleanor Lightbody, CEO of Luminance, told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday. Lightbody said that businesses are investing in AI tools like Luminance's to keep a competitive edge, as well as to reduce costs. Luminance is one firm of the many generating buzz from investors thanks to the hype swirling around artificial intelligence.

Persons: Slaughter, Eleanor Lightbody, Lightbody Organizations: CNBC, U.S, National Grid Partners, National Grid, Koch Industries, Hitachi, Yokogawa, Liberty Mutual, LG Chem, BBC Studios, University of Cambridge, Companies, Mistral, Microsoft, Amazon, Investors

☆ Chubb ended Trump fraud bond talks after backing E. Jean Carroll appeal bond, court filing says
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-19 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for the start of his civil fraud trial at New York State Supreme Court on October 02, 2023 in New York City. Chubb was one of more than 30 companies that refused to craft a bond that would put the massive business fraud judgment on pause, attorneys for Trump said in a New York appeals court filing Monday. Appeal bonds aim to prevent the loser of a court judgment from using the appeals process to delay or avoid paying their penalties. But "within the past week," he said, Chubb reversed course and "notified Defendants that it could not accept real property as collateral." "Though disappointing, this decision was not surprising given that Chubb was the only surety willing to even consider accepting real estate as collateral," Garten said.

Persons: Donald Trump, Chubb, Trump, Letitia James, James, Alan Garten, Warren Buffett's Berkshire, —, Garten Organizations: U.S, New York, Court, Trump, New, Trump Organization, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Liberty Mutual, Allianz Locations: New York City, New York

☆ Florida Man Sues G.M. and LexisNexis Over Sale of His Cadillac Data
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Kashmir Hill | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

According to a federal complaint filed this week seeking class-action status, it was because his 2021 Cadillac XT6 had been spying on him. When Mr. Chicco requested his LexisNexis file, it contained details about 258 trips he had taken in his Cadillac over the past six months. The data had been provided by General Motors — the manufacturer of his Cadillac. In a complaint against General Motors and LexisNexis Risk Solutions filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Mr. Chicco accused the companies of violation of privacy and consumer protection laws. LexisNexis Risk Solutions, and another data broker called Verisk, claim to have real-world driving behavior from millions of cars.

Persons: Romeo Chicco, XT6, Chicco, General Motors Organizations: Liberty Mutual, LexisNexis, General, General Motors, Southern, Southern District of, The New York Times, Solutions Locations: U.S, Southern District, Southern District of Florida

☆ Trump must still cough up at least $90M in E. Jean Carroll verdict — and soon — even though an appeal means she has to wait for it
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Laura Italiano | Haven Orecchio-Egresitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Donald Trump has to cut a fat check, and his appeal of the E. Jean Carroll verdict won't delay that. While he appeals the verdict, Carroll can't touch that money — but neither can Trump. Here, as an example, is the judgment Kaplan issued after last year's Carroll verdict, the one that ordered he pay $5 million in damages. Last time around, for the $5 million verdict, Trump went with cash. The premium is money Trump would never see again, according to a surety executive who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Persons: Donald Trump, Jean Carroll, Trump, Carroll, —, Donald Trump's, Carroll's, Roberta Kaplan, Stephanie Keith, Lewis Kaplan, That's, Kaplan, Judge Kaplan, babysit — Trump, what's, Chubb, Morgan Chase, Donald Trump Scott Eisen, general's, Habba Organizations: Trump, Service, Business, Travelers Insurance, Liberty Mutual, New, Trump Organization Locations: Manhattan, New York

☆ Tesla launched its own car insurance. These drivers say it's a lemon.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +20 min

Tesla Insurance, launched in 2019 by the electric-car company, has promised policyholders “vastly better” service than rivals, as Tesla chief Elon Musk put it in April 2022. “What do they have, three people answering phone calls?”Complaints about Tesla Insurance are drawing scrutiny from state regulators and the plaintiffs’ bar. And there’s no way to know exactly how many have been made against Tesla Insurance and how its record compares with competitors’. That fall, Tesla launched InsureMyTesla, a new insurance offering for U.S. Tesla owners, in partnership with Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. Lester F. Aponte, a Los Angeles attorney who signed up for Tesla Insurance in August, described a maddening ordeal to obtain proof of insurance.

Persons: Mark Bova, lurched, “ I’m, ” Bova, policyholders “, Elon Musk, Musk, Bova, he’s, Tesla, ”, Musk’s, Virginia –, Phil Fioresi, Tesla’s adjusters, adjusters, ” Zachary Kirkhorn, ” Kirkhorn, Teslas, InsureMyTesla, it’s, It’s, Chanda Santiago, ” Santiago, Lester F, Aponte, haven't, Understaffed, “, —, Policyholders, Jonathan Garcia, Garcia, adjuster, Scott Sawyer, Sawyer, Lauren Lee Sawyer, ” Sawyer, –, Steve Stecklow, Koh Gui Qing, Norihiko, Mike Scarcella, John Emerson, Brian Thevenot Organizations: Green, U.S . Army Special Forces, Tesla Insurance, Tesla, Reuters, Bureau, Twitter, U.S, SpaceX, Ohio Department of Insurance, California Department of Insurance, Data, AAA, The Auto Club Group, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co, Liberty Mutual, Markel, National Insurance Company, State National, State, Facebook, Better, policyholders, Better Business Bureau Locations: Maryland, That’s, California , Utah , Illinois, Virginia, South San Francisco , California, California, Draper , Utah, Texas, policyholders, InsureMyTesla, U.S, Illinois, Colorado, Ohio, Florida , Georgia, Washington, Santiago, Los Angeles, Draper, North Carolina, Riverside , California

☆ Generali has 500 mln euros left for M&A, could return it to investors, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

An Assicurazioni Generali SpA's logo is seen on a building of their offices in Saint-Denis, near Paris, France, February 27, 2018. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMILAN, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Italy's top insurer Assicurazioni Generali (GASI.MI) still has 500 million euros ($533.10 million) left for M&A deals, which will be returned to shareholders if not used for acquisitions, its Chief Executive Philippe Donnet said on Wednesday. In June, the insurer agreed to buy the Spanish unit of U.S. insurer Liberty Mutual for 2.3 billion euros, strengthening its property and casualty segment. I cannot say whether we will make another acquisition before the end of the plan. If we do not use this cash for an acquisition, we will return it to the shareholders", Donnet said.

Persons: Denis, Benoit Tessier, Assicurazioni, Philippe Donnet, Generali, Liberty Seguros, Donnet, Gianluca Semeraro, Gavin Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Liberty Mutual, Holdings, Liberty, Thomson Locations: Saint, Paris, France, Europe, Asia, United States, Connecticut

Company bosses have vowed never to hire members of a university's student groups that condemned Israel. The fallout from the Israel-Hamas war has spilled into workplaces everywhere, as top leaders of prominent companies weigh in with their views while workers complain their voices are not being heard. Starbucks filed a lawsuit to stop Starbucks Workers United from using its name and a similar logo. Workers United, the parent union of Starbucks Workers United, responded with its own lawsuit saying Starbucks defamed the union by implying it supports terrorism. Starbucks Workers United tweeted a longer message on Friday denouncing Israel’s “occupation” and “threats of genocide Palestinians face” while also condemning antisemitism and Islamophobia.

Persons: Israel, J.P Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Albert Bourla, Pfizer, ” Bourla, Paddy Cosgrave, “, David Marcus, Cosgrave, Jonathan Neman, Winston, Strawn, Isra, Abuhasna, Israel’s, Angela Berg, Perelaks, Berg, Julie Sweet, David, Allison Grinberg, Funes, didn't, ”, Grinberg, Dee, Ann Durbin Organizations: Starbucks, Company, Hamas, U.S, Google, Pfizer, Summit, Siemens, Intel, Harvard, New York University, Student Bar Association, Islamic Relations, Palestinian, Starbucks Workers, . Workers United, Starbucks Workers United, Accenture, Associated Press, Liberty Mutual, Israel . Liberty Mutual Locations: Israel, Gaza, Chicago, Palestinian American, U.S, Palestine, Boston, Funes

☆ California lets insurers factor wildfire risks in rates to widen coverage
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A house is fully engulfed by flames at the Dixie Fire, a wildfire near the town of Greenville, California, U.S. August 5, 2021. REUTERS/Fred Greaves/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Liberty Mutual Group Inc FollowSept 21 (Reuters) - California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara took steps on Thursday to allow property insurers to factor in climate risks including wildfires in rate prices, if they increase underwriting in at-risk areas to wean consumers off state-funded coverage. The measures by the state's insurance regulator follow an executive order by Governor Gavin Newsom urging regulatory action to expand coverage in underserved areas, account for catastrophe risks in rates, and keep the FAIR Plan solvent. The continued retreat of larger insurance carriers from the California residential property insurance market signals ongoing regulatory constraints, rising cost inflation, and higher catastrophe losses, credit rating agency Fitch said in a note earlier this year. Reporting by Deep Vakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Fred Greaves, Ricardo Lara, Lara, Gavin Newsom, Gallagher, Fitch, Jamie Freed Organizations: REUTERS, Companies Liberty Mutual Group, California Insurance, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, FAIR, Gallagher Re, Thomson Locations: Greenville , California, U.S, California, Florida, Bengaluru

After our car insurance premiums doubled, we looked at how much each provider would cost our family. See Insider's picks for the best cheap car insurance for teenagers »1. I got quotes from multiple carriers and eventually went with Allstate's car insurance, as they offered the best bundle with our homeowners insurance policy. Others were more punishing — the Liberty Mutual car insurance quote went up by $140 a month. Progressive went up by $116, though they offer a teen driver discount for customers of a year or more.

Persons: I'm Organizations: Service, . Insurance, Tacoma, Liberty Mutual, Progressive Locations: Wall, Silicon, —

☆ Liberty Mutual to stop offering business owner's policy in California as costs bite
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 26 (Reuters) - Property and casualty insurer Liberty Mutual will stop offering its business owner's policy (BOP) product in wildfire-prone state California from Oct. 1, in a sign that cost inflation and higher catastrophe losses are pounding insurers' profits. A spokesperson for Liberty Mutual also told Reuters in an emailed statement that the company "will not renew its current book of this line of business beginning in December." BOP is an insurance product usually required by business owners that bundles all major property and liability risks into a single package. Liberty Mutual joins a growing list of major insurers retreating from California. In May this year, State Farm said that it would stop selling new insurance policies to homeowners in California.

Persons: Fitch, Jaiveer Singh, Manya, Shailesh Organizations: Liberty Mutual, Reuters, Global, Farm, Manya Saini, Thomson Locations: California, Bengaluru

I looked into getting new homeowners insurance and found I could save around $900 a year. We have also had a $2 million umbrella insurance policy for the last few years, which complicates matters even more. But in recent years, we've sold our two rental properties, so we're back down to the basics of homeowners insurance, auto coverage, and umbrella insurance. Note that you can also use a homeowners comparison site like The Zebra to compare several homeowners insurance quotes in one place. Comparing costs and coveragesUltimately, I found that switching homeowners insurance companies could help me save as much as $900 per year.

Persons: I'm, —, I've, we've Organizations: Service, Allstate, State, Liberty Mutual, GEICO Liberty Mutual, Central Indiana, Insurify, Progressive Locations: GEICO

☆ Generali’s pounce may win over in-house sceptics
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The 29 billion euro Italian insurer on Thursday agreed to purchase Liberty Seguros, a group of European businesses, from U.S. insurer Liberty Mutual for 2.3 billion euros in cash. The Italian insurer’s largest acquisition since 2013 nearly exhausts its M&A firepower, which the group had assessed at between 2.5 billion euros and 3 billion euros. At 2.3 billion euros, or nearly two times its 1.2 billion euros of annual revenue, Liberty Seguros’ price tag does not look cheap. But the real price falls to 1.8 billion euros after factoring in around 500 million euros of cash expected from a sale of Brazilian assets announced earlier this year. Assuming three-quarters of these are cost cuts, they may be worth around 800 million euros once taxed at 25% and capitalised.

Persons: Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, Philippe Donnet, Generali, Lisa Jucca, Pierre Briancon, Oliver Taslic Organizations: MILAN, Reuters, Liberty, Liberty Mutual, Axa, Allianz, Twitter, Thomson Locations: U.S, Italian, Iberia, Spain, Portugal, Europe, Cava

☆ Generali to buy Liberty Mutual's Spanish Unit in $2.5 billion all-cash deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ROME, June 15 (Reuters) - Generali (GASI.MI) will buy out the Spanish unit of U.S. insurer Liberty Mutual for 2.3 billion euros ($2.51 billion), in a move aimed at strengthening its property and casualty segment, Italy's top insurer said on Thursday. "Generali is acquiring a profitable insurance business in three growing European markets with very attractive characteristics, that will create significant long-term value for all stakeholders," Chief Executive Philippe Donnet said in a statement. Generali said it expects the acquisition to bring a reduction of 9.7 percentage points on the group's regulatory solvency ratio. The all-cash deal would allow the Italian group to become one of the main players in the Spanish insurance market, as well as enter Ireland and Northern Ireland, Generali said. ($1 = 0.9179 euro)Reporting by Federica Urso in Rome and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Philippe Donnet, Generali, Federica Urso, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Liberty Mutual, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Thomson Locations: Spanish, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Rome, Bengaluru

☆ Workers really don't want to RTO. Some say they would forgo thousands of dollars and take a 20% pay cut to keep working from home.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Remote workers are turning to workplace discussion platforms like Fishbowl to discuss return-to-office mandates. Some say they are willing to take pay cuts of up to a 20% to continue working from home. "There are more things in life than money," one Fishbowl user said in response to RTO incentives. Remote workers are turning to anonymous workplace discussion platforms to gauge whether they should take jobs with lower pay to keep their work-from-home privileges. The willingness for workers to forgo thousands of dollars in pay to work from home is nothing new.

Persons: Fishbowl, they'd, they're Organizations: Workers, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Washington Post

☆ Hyro, a conversational AI startup for enterprise, raised $20 million in new funding using this 15-slide pitch deck
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Callum Burroughs | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Hyro, an AI tool for enterprise users, has raised $20 million in fresh funding. Founded in 2018 and launched in 2020, Hyro works with healthcare providers to replace chatbots. The company has raised new money from Macquarie Capital amid a boom in AI interest. Hyro, a conversational AI startup for enterprises, has raised $20 million in new funding. Founded in 2018, Hyro is a plug-and-play AI startup that provides conversational AI tools to sectors such as healthcare.

Persons: ChatGPT, Israel Krush, GPT, Krush Organizations: Macquarie Capital, Investors, Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, Black Opal Ventures, Hanaco Ventures, Spero Ventures, Ventures Locations: New York

[1/2] The statue of a scout stands in the entrance to Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas, February 5, 2013. More than a dozen insurers, including Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, have said the Boy Scouts' bankruptcy settlement puts them on the hook for paying "thousands of invalid and questionable claims." The Boy Scouts settlement, approved in bankruptcy court in September, was supported by 86% of abuse claimants and the Boy Scouts' two largest insurers. The Boy Scouts organization said Friday it would oppose any effort to delay bankruptcy exit. The Boy Scouts filed for bankruptcy in February 2020 after several U.S. states enacted laws allowing accusers to sue over decades-old abuse allegations.

☆ IT Job Market Shrinks for First Time in Over Two Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

The job market for information-technology professionals shrank in January for the first time in over two years, a sign that IT staffers are facing the same scrutiny as workers in other positions and sectors as companies slow spending. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. The McLean, Va.-based bank said those roles would be absorbed by its existing engineering teams and product managers. Still, employment in the overall technology sector hasn’t wavered, according to IT trade group CompTIA. “Not only do we need to provide capabilities to propel the business forward, but we need the best engineering tools, modern architectures and people in the right roles to respond to changing market conditions,” Ms. Caldas said.

☆ CIOs Nominate Their Favorite Reads of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Tom Loftus | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +9 min

Chief information officers, ever alert to any development in a field that only hurtles forward, largely reflected that alacrity in their choice of reading during 2022. PREVIEWChris Bedi, chief digital information officer, ServiceNow Inc. Photo: IBM Corp.Ron Guerrier, chief information officer, HP Inc. Photo: Cisco Systems Inc.Fletcher Previn, chief information officer, Cisco Systems Inc. Photo: Home Depot Inc.Fahim Siddiqui, chief information officer, Home Depot Inc.

☆ Going Into 2023, CIOs Weigh Tech Priorities Against Economic Realities
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Bonnie Titone, chief information officer at Duke Energy Corp., a Charlotte, N.C.-based power producer, said CIOs are being told to get by with less, but without decreasing output or positive outcomes. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. One resource to keep top of mind is talent, said Brad Peterson, Nasdaq Inc.’s chief technology and chief information officer, adding that economic slowdowns can provide opportunities to reassess talent development and succession planning. Diogo Rau, chief information and digital officer at Eli Lilly Photo: Eli Lilly & Co. “My perceptions of the economy haven’t changed the way I plan to approach my role,” said Diogo Rau, chief information and digital officer at Eli Lilly & Co.

☆ 10 of the best companies to work for if you want to advance your career―some jobs pay more than $100K/yr
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Gili Malinsky | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The company was among the best for career stability and growing talent. It ranked among the best companies for career launchpad, career stability and advancement without a degree. MicrosoftTech giant Microsoft came in among the top companies for career stability, growing talent and advancement without a degree. It ranked among the best companies for career launchpad, career stability and advancement without a degree. It ranked among the best companies for career launchpad, career stability, growing talent and advancement without a degree.

Comparison shopping for life insurance sounds like a chore, but online life insurance startups and comparison sites make it easier than you'd think. Sitting at my computer, I got quotes from life insurance agencies including Haven Life, Bestow, and insurance comparison site Policygenius, where I found the cheapest premiums. I spent about half an hour comparing life insurance quotes online and found out just how important shopping around can be. I started by looking at some buzzy life insurance startupsIn less than three minutes, I had a life insurance quote from Bestow that was very reasonable. Fabric is an online tool for making a will and getting life insurance.

Persons: —, didn't, that's, Policygenius, I'd Organizations: Haven, Service, Life, Liberty Mutual, Liberty Locations: California, Haven, Banner

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