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U.K.’s Pool Re Sells First Terrorism Risk Catastrophe Bond

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A U.K. reinsurer has sold the first terror catastrophe bond, giving investors the chance to lock in high yields in return for taking on terrorism risks.

The 75 million-pound ($99 million) three-year bond will pay 5.9 percent interest, state-backed Pool Re said in a statement. The notes were issued through a special-purpose company called Baltic PCC Ltd.

Modeled on catastrophe bonds, the new notes will suffer losses if insurers have to pay out on terror attacks including chemical, biological or cyber. Catastrophe bonds, which pay out after natural disasters such as hurricanes or earthquakes, have found a market by offering investors a high-yield asset uncorrelated to economic or financial-market risks.

The Baltic PCC deal complements “traditional reinsurers to spread terrorism risk even more broadly,” Pool Re Chief Executive Officer Julian Enoizi said in the statement. “In addition, it further protects HM Treasury, and helps us towards our ultimate goal of returning terrorism risk to private markets.”

Pool Re was set up in 1993 after the Irish Republican Army’s mainland U.K. bombing campaign prompted reinsurers to stop covering terrorism-related damage.

GC Securities placed the three-year bond.

Copyright 2019 Bloomberg.

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Police Say Two Killed in Plane Crash at Massachusetts Airport

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Massachusetts State Police say two people have died after a small plane crashed and caught fire at Mansfield Municipal Airport.

Saturday’s crash occurred at about 12:36 p.m., according to the state police department’s Twitter feed. State troopers assigned to the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office, the Massachusetts State Police Crime Scene and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.

The identities of the victims have not yet been released.

The airport is located about 45 miles south of Boston.

Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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More Than 65K Power Outages Reported in Upstate New York

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More than 65,000 power outages have been reported in upstate New York after high winds rattled the region.

Syracuse.com says 5,000 utility workers have been mobilized upstate.

WGRZ in Buffalo said lake-effect snow combined with wind gusting to 60 mph could greatly reduce visibility in some areas on Monday morning.

Hundreds of schools had cancellations or delays.

The wind also caused havoc around metropolitan New York City.

On Sunday, thousands lost power upstate. In Buffalo, two people were hurt by falling light poles.

An 86 mph gust was recorded Sunday on Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks. There were gusts of 74 mph at the Niagara Falls airport and 69 mph at the Buffalo airport.

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Amazon Crash Points to Lax Safety for Cargo Operations Compared to Passenger Airlines

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Passenger airlines in the U.S. have recorded a remarkable period of safety over the past 10 years.

Not so the nation’s cargo planes. Five domestically registered aircraft have crashed since 2009 — killing 16 people — including Saturday’s violent plunge into a bay near Houston of a plane carrying Amazon.com Inc. packages.

While no cause has been identified for that crash, which killed all three people aboard, it has revived concerns that safety standards for such things as mandatory sleep breaks for pilots or fire safety regulations are more lax on the cargo airlines than their passenger counterparts.

The Federal Aviation Administration, as part of its ongoing efforts to monitor safety issues, had been “taking a focused look at cargo operations” before the accident, the agency said in a statement on Monday night. The FAA also said it was looking at “any additional measure that may be warranted.”

John Cox, president of consulting company Safety Operating Systems and a former airline pilot, said “there have been a higher number of cargo accidents than passenger accidents almost as far back as I can remember.” And, he said, “That still continues today.”

There’s been just a single death on U.S.-registered passenger airlines since Feb. 12, 2009.

“We do have some safety concerns that remain,” said Captain Robert Travis, president of the Independent Pilots Association, which represents about 3,000 United Parcel Service Inc. pilots.

Equalizing Regulations

The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents flight crews at FedEx Corp., has called for equalizing the safety and security regulations for passenger and cargo flights. “Lesser requirements are placed on all-cargo operations in several crucial areas, which results in unnecessary safety risk,” the union said in a position paper posted on its website.

Little is known about what caused the Atlas Air wide body Boeing Co. 767-300, operating on behalf of Amazon, to suddenly dive from about 5,800 feet (1,768 meters) into a bay as it approached Houston. A video captured from a nearby jail showed the plane didn’t turn or try to pull out of the plunge in its final seconds, according to National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt.

Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. fell 5.76 percent Monday to $55.51. The company said in a statement that it was “deeply saddened” by the crash and was assisting the victims’ families.

The accident drew attention to the safety records of passenger compared to cargo airlines.

Cox said safety in the cargo arena has improved along with passenger airlines and that he wouldn’t characterize the industry as unsafe. However, cargo operations sometimes occur in more hazardous conditions, such as during the middle of the night or at airports that aren’t as well equipped, he said.

In some areas, the regulations aren’t as rigorous for cargo flights, he said.

Cargo carriers follow older regulations that require pilots get at least eight hours of rest each day. The newer rules for passenger airlines, which went into effect in 2014, call for at least 10 hours off between shifts to ensure crew members can reach a hotel room and still get close to eight hours of sleep.

The new rules also added requirements designed to reduce fatigue, including cutting the amount of hours crews can work per day if they fly late at night.

The cargo industry has a good safety record and any differences in how it’s regulated are the result of its unique operating requirements, said George Novak, president of the National Air Carrier Association, a trade group representing freight haulers, including Atlas.

“If the FAA felt there was a serious safety lapse or a gap, action would have been taken some time ago,” Novak said.

The association has been participating the FAA’s review of cargo safety, he said.

The difference in the safety record of passenger and cargo carriers is even more stark when comparing the number of flights they make: In 2017, the most recent year for which complete data is available, passenger flights totaled 9 million compared to 603,000 for cargo, almost 15 times higher, according to U.S. Transportation Department data.

Read More: How One Crash 10 Years Ago Helped Keep 90 Million Flights Safe

The NTSB objected to cargo carriers being excluded from the 2014 rules designed to give airline pilots more rest, particularly when they fly late at night.

“The NTSB disagrees with this exclusion, as many of the fatigue-related accidents that we have investigated over the years involved cargo operators,” the safety board wrote to the FAA in a 2013 letter.

One factor that has led to accidents is the higher likelihood of hazardous or flammable material being carried on cargo flights, according to accident reports.

Dubai Crash

A UPS Boeing 747 crashed in Dubai on Sept. 3, 2010, after a fire erupted on the plane and pilots couldn’t reach the airport. The plane was carrying more than 81,000 lithium-based batteries, which can burn at high temperatures or explode, according to a report by the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates.

While guidelines adopted by the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization and followed by airlines prohibit bulk shipments of such batteries on passenger flights, there are no such restrictions on cargo airlines.

Both UPS and FedEx have taken numerous steps to ensure manufacturers package batteries properly and are exploring better equipment to contain fires.

“Although the companies have been very proactive, there’s always the opportunity for some undeclared hazmat to get through and that’s a concern,” Travis said.

One accident illustrating the hazards of carrying cargo occurred April 29, 2013, at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

A National Air Cargo Inc. 747 under contract to the U.S. military crashed shortly after takeoff when heavy vehicles in the cargo hold broke loose and slid backward, damaging flight controls. All seven people aboard died.

The NTSB identified issues with the airline’s procedures for restraining large loads and said the FAA didn’t adequately oversee safety at the carrier.

Copyright 2019 Bloomberg.

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High Winds Down Trees, Power Lines, Cut Power to Thousands in Pennsylvania

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High winds have been bringing down trees and power lines in western Pennsylvania, leaving tens of thousands of utility customers without power.

The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning covering many areas of the commonwealth into Monday with gusts up to 60 mph or more.

In western Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium and Boyce Park closed early because of the strong winds.

Duquesne Light and West Penn Power both reported tens of thousands of outages in the region amid many reports of downed trees and power lines. Some property damage has been reported.

A Harrison City couple told the Tribune-Review that they had just gotten home from a walk with their 4-month-old baby when a tree fell on their house. No one was injured.

Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Allstar Underwriters Expands HO-6 Condo Insurance Program to Three Eastern States

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Allstar Underwriters (AUI) has expanded its HO-6 Condo Insurance Program to three additional states. The expansion covers Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland.

Through the HO-6 expansion, AUI aims to continue developing programs that meet the needs of agents and insureds throughout the East Coast and Southeastern states.

The AUI condo insurance program is backed by AM Best “A” rated carriers and was designed to benefit individuals in coastal areas. These policies offer coverages with no distance to coast restrictions, and flood and wind coverage under the same policy.

Allstar Underwriters is a division of Allstar Financial Group, an Atlanta, Ga.-based holding company with multiple specialty managing general agencies across the country.

Source: Allstar Underwriters

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New York Governor Orders Investigation into Facebook’s Access to User Data

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Friday ordered two state agencies to investigate a media report that Facebook Inc may be accessing far more personal information than previously known from smartphone users, including health and other sensitive data.

The directive to New York’s Department of State and Department of Financial Services (DFS) came after the Wall Street Journal said testing showed that Facebook collected personal information from other apps on users’ smartphones within seconds of them entering it.

The WSJ reported that several apps share sensitive user data including weight, blood pressure and ovulation status with Facebook. The report said the company can access data in some cases even when the user is not signed into Facebook or does not have a Facebook account.

In a statement, Cuomo called the practice an “outrageous abuse of privacy.” He also called on the relevant federal regulators to become involved.

Facebook said in a statement it would assist New York officials in their probe, but noted that the WSJ’s report focused on how other apps use people’s data to create ads.

“As (the WSJ) reported, we require the other app developers to be clear with their users about the information they are sharing with us, and we prohibit app developers from sending us sensitive data. We also take steps to detect and remove data that should not be shared with us,” the company said.

Shares in Facebook took a short-lived hit after the newspaper report was published, but closed up 1.2 percent.

In late January, Cuomo along with New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an investigation into Apple Inc’s failure to warn consumers about a FaceTime bug that had let iPhones users listen to conversations of others who have not yet accepted a video call.

Facebook is facing a slew of lawsuits and regulatory inquiries over privacy issues, including a U.S. Federal Trade Commission investigation into disclosures that Facebook inappropriately shared information belonging to 87 million users with British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

New York’s financial services department does not traditionally supervise social media companies directly, but has waded into digital privacy in the financial sector and could have oversight of some app providers that send user data to Facebook.

In March, it is slated to implement the country’s first cybersecurity rules governing state-regulated financial institutions such as banks, insurers and credit monitors.

Last month, DFS said life insurers could use social media posts in underwriting policies, so long as they did not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sexual orientation or other protected classes.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York and Katie Paul in San Francisco; editing by Meredith Mazzilli and Tom Brown)

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Connecticut Governor Lamont Fills Top Public Health, Insurance Agency Jobs

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Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has announced his choices to lead the departments of public health and insurance.

The Democrat is nominating Renee D. Coleman-Mitchell, a health care executive, to oversee the health department. Coleman-Mitchell is executive director of Cougar Health Services at Washington State University. She previously worked at the Connecticut Department of Public Health, beginning in 1986 with the HIV/AIDS division.

Lamont is also nominating Andrew N. Mais of Wilton to oversee the insurance department.

Mais specializes in insurance regulation at the Deloitte Center for Financial Services in Stamford, where he has worked since 2011. He previously worked at the New York State Insurance Department.

Both appointees await legislative confirmation.

Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Officials Say Plane Had Fuel Tank Issues Before Fatal Massachusetts Crash

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The National Transportation Safety Board says a plane crashed into an apartment building in Massachusetts, killing a former mayor, had fuel tank issues months before the fatal crash.

The Eagle-Tribune reports that investigators did not say exactly what caused the February 2017 crash in Methuen.

But in a recent report said whatever did happen, happened shortly after takeoff.

Alan Lavender died when the plane crashed into the building on approach to Lawrence Municipal Airport.

The 73-year-old Lavender was a former city councilor and mayor of Newburyport. No residents were injured.

NTSB investigators say Lavender wrote in an email three days before his death that he had the plane’s fuel tank fixed.

Lavender said in the email he planned to do “touch-and-goes” to ensure everything was working correctly.

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Ping An Insurance Readies $8 Billion IPO of Fintech OneConnect

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Ping An Insurance (Group) Co., China’s largest insurer by market value, is gearing up for an initial public offering of its OneConnect unit that could value the financial management portal at about $8 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Ping An is now targeting to list OneConnect in Hong Kong as soon as the second half of this year, one of the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The share sale could raise roughly $1 billion, according to the people.

The insurance giant initially had a fundraising goal of as much as $3 billion last year, before an increasingly volatile market forced it to push back the listing. Ping An tempered its valuation expectations and may offer a smaller stake in the business after OneConnect’s business performance wasn’t as strong as initially projected, one person said.

A OneConnect spinoff and IPO would be one of the highest-profile deals in Hong Kong since a rapidly decelerating Chinese economy chilled public funding and the country’s tech space. It would help propel Ping An’s longer-term strategy to transform itself into a financial technology powerhouse.

The tech-heavy MSCI China Index has risen 20 percent from its January low. Deliberations are still at an early stage, and details of the OneConnect offering including the valuation and fundraising size could change depending on market sentiment, the people said. Gareth Hewett, a spokesman for the company, declined to comment.

OneConnect provides cloud computing and other technology services to small- and medium-sized financial institutions. It’s partnered with more than 460 banks as well as over 1,800 other financial services firms from insurers and brokerages to fund managers and private-equity houses, according to Ping An’s 2017 annual report. The Ping An subsidiary has previously raised $650 million in a series A financing round that valued the company at $7.4 billion.

Ping An last year spun off and floated Ping An Healthcare and Technology Co. That company, known as Good Doctor, provides platforms used by hospitals, insurers and pharmacies.

Copyright 2019 Bloomberg.

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Nationwide Insurance Cuts More Jobs in Iowa

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Nationwide Insurance has more than doubled the number of Des Moines job cuts it announced last fall.

Nationwide said in November that about 80 workers in Des Moines would lose their jobs as part of a company effort to eliminate about 1,100 positions across the country — around 3.6 percent of its workforce.

The company issued 191 layoff notices this month, however.

Nationwide spokesman Joe Case told The Des Moines Register that, “as we’ve continued to implement our business plans, we are realizing a larger impact in Des Moines than what we originally shared in November.”

Nationwide has said it is taking advantage of new technologies as it positions the organization for long-term success and growth.

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California Bill Would Make Clergy Report Abuse Revealed in Confessions

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A California lawmaker says clergy should be required to report suspected child abuse and neglect even if they learn of it during confession.

Democratic Sen. Jerry Hill said the bill he introduced Wednesday is “about the safety and protection of children.”

Clergy members are among a list of more than 40 “mandated reporters,” meaning they are required to report suspected abuse. But they are exempted from reporting anything that happens during confession, a sacrosanct practice in the Catholic Church.

Hill linked the bill to ongoing revelations of sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

The California Catholic Conference says it supports clergy’s role as mandated reporters but opposes expanding that to cover confession.

Conference spokesman Steve Pehanich says the bill is less about protecting children and more about eroding Catholics’ rights.

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Bill Creating North Dakota Health Reinsurance Pool Advances

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Proposed legislation in North Dakota that would establish invisible reinsurance pool for the individual health insurance market, unanimously passed the North Dakota House of Representatives, the state insurance department announced.

HB 1106 was developed and proposed by the North Dakota Insurance Department. It outlines a plan to create a reinsurance mechanism that would be what has been referred to as “invisible” reinsurance. The approach of invisible reinsurance allows enrollees to remain in the individual market with their current plan and carrier but a portion of their claims are reimbursed by the reinsurance pool. The enrollee is not aware that their claim is being paid via the reinsurance pool meaning there is no effect on the enrollee as the task of ceding claims to the reinsurance pool is completed on the back end of the process and is without consequence to the enrollee.

For 2020, the proposed reinsurance program would cover 75 percent of paid claims between the attachment point and $1,000,000. The attachment points being considered are $100,000 and $200,000. This level of reinsurance was assumed in projections but North Dakota could have the flexibility to change the parameters in the future.

The intent of the North Dakota Plan offering a state-specific plan is to have an affordable option for healthier individuals who have foregone purchasing health insurance in the past and to inject healthier risk into the single risk pool. Healthier individuals would pay a reduced premium.

The North Dakota Plan would cover all essential health benefits but would allow higher cost sharing compared to the ACA metal level plans. The plans are still guaranteed issue, but in the event of a coverage lapse, carriers would be allowed to implement a waiting period that is consistent with the provisions of the ACA before pre-existing conditions would be covered.

A study conducted by the insurance department in 2018 shows the invisible reinsurance pool would reduce premiums and that the North Dakota Plan would provide a low-cost alternative for healthier individuals. This would result in more individuals with health insurance and a more stable individual market, protecting carriers from unpredictable high cost claims. This would also result in carriers being more willing to participate in the North Dakota individual insurance market.

The reinsurance pool would be funded by a combination of federal funds and assessments. The assessments would be placed on insurance companies selling in the state’s health insurance market.

HB 1106 now moves to the state Senate.

Source: North Dakota Insurance Department

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Data Mistake Exposed Names of 974,000 University of Washington Patients

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University of Washington Medicine says a website server inadvertently made internal files concerning nearly 1 million patients available on the internet.

The organization said the files contained patients’ names and medical record numbers but no medical records, financial information or Social Security numbers.

In a news release this week, UW Medicine said the exposure began on Dec. 4 and was discovered Dec. 26. It said there is no evidence of any misuse or attempted use of the information.

Patients with questions can call 844-322-8234 .

King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn called for an investigation, describing the issue as a “massive breach of the public’s trust.”

UW Medicine includes the University of Washington Medical School, UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center and several other hospitals and clinics.

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Washington Dairy Farms Take $4M Hit from Cows Lost in Blizzard

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Officials say the more than 1,800 dairy cows that died in a blizzard in southern Washington state earlier this month were a nearly $4 million loss, not including the lost milk production.

Farm Service Agency program specialist Gerri Richter tells the Capital Press that seven dairy farms have given notices of loss to the agency’s office in Yakima, and more are expected to report soon.

The agency’s Livestock Indemnity Program pays out at 75 percent of market value.

Steve George of the state dairy federation says up to 15 farms near Sunnyside lost cows, with one dairy reported to have lost about 600 cows in the Feb. 9 storm.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday made $100,000 available to help farmers haul the animals to an Oregon landfill.

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Berkshire Hathaway in Talks to Sell Workers’ Compensation Unit Applied Underwriters

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Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is in advanced discussions to sell its Applied Underwriters workers compensation unit to a consortium of insurance firms, people familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The deal would be a rare divestment by Buffett, who has built a corporate empire of more than 90 businesses in sectors spanning insurance, chemicals, energy, railroads, food and retail. Unlike private equity firms, the 88-year-old billionaire investor does not seek to cash out once he takes over a company.

However, San Francisco-based Applied Underwriters now sits outside Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance focus, making it a non-core asset Buffett wishes to shed, the sources said.

Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance businesses include the auto insurer Geico, reinsurer General Re, and a unit that protects against major catastrophes or unusual risks.

Applied Underwriters, on the other hand, provides bundled workers’ compensation and other employment-related insurance products targeted to small and medium-sized businesses.

A grouping of insurance firms and a hedge fund-backed reinsurance firm are in talks to buy Applied Underwriters at around the value of its book of business, the sources said, declining to disclose the price and the identity of the buyers.

The sources cautioned there is always a possibility that deal negotiations end unsuccessfully and asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.

Berkshire Hathaway did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Applied Underwriters has also been in the crosshairs of California’s insurance regulator, reaching a settlement agreement in June 2017 over “bait and switch marketing tactics,” according to a statement from the state’s insurance commissioner at the time. Berkshire Hathaway acquired Applied Underwriters in May 2006.

Buffett is scheduled to publish his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders this weekend, alongside the company’s annual report. Berkshire Hathaway’s cash pile reached $103.6 billion as of the end of September, as Buffett has struggled to find attractive acquisition opportunities to put money to work.

Buffett’s efforts to divest Applied Underwriters come as one of his biggest investments, Kraft Heinz Co, has soured. On Thursday, the food giant announced a multibillion-dollar writedown on its marquee brands, raising concerns that years of rigorous cost cuts had eroded the value of its Kraft and Oscar Mayer products.

(Reporting by David French in New York Additional reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Tom Brown)

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TxDOT: Traffic Fatalities Increased in Energy Producing Regions

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Booming energy production has brought jobs and economic gains to communities throughout Texas, but also an unintended consequence with a rise in traffic fatalities and injuries, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reports.

In 2017, more than 194,000 crashes — an average of 532 per day in the state’s five main oil and gas production regions — resulted in 1,614 deaths and 7,422 serious injuries, a slight increase over the previous year.

TxDOT officials point to failure to control speed and driver inattention as the main reasons we are seeing a rise in traffic crashes in areas such as the Barnett Shale, Eagle Ford Shale, Granite Wash, Haynesville/Bossier Shale and Permian Basin. Driving under the influence of alcohol is also a primary factor in these fatal crashes.

“Increased traffic and larger, heavier vehicles are changing driving conditions in many parts of Texas,” Texas Transportation Commissioner Alvin New said in a media release. “We’re working with state, federal, local and industry partners to address safety and congestion, and we’re also reminding motorists to be safe and drive smart by following all traffic laws, giving their full attention to the road, and being cautious around the many water, sand and heavy equipment trucks traveling through energy-producing areas.”

TxDOT has committed to repairing and improving roads in the state’s energy-production areas. The Texas Transportation Commission has directed $3.4 billion to make repairs and improve roads in the booming Permian Basin over the next decade.

While only 2 percent of Texans live in the Permian Basin region, 11 percent of all traffic fatalities in the state took place there in 2017.

Motorists can expect to see a variety of safety reminders in the coming weeks as TxDOT kicks off its annual “Be Safe. Drive Smart.” safety campaign that urges drivers to take precautions when sharing the road with heavy trucks and work crews in energy-producing regions that cover more than half of the state’s 254 counties. The campaign’s TV and radio spots, billboards, gas pump messages and digital advertising encourage drivers to follow basic common sense safety tips.

TxDOT will host community events in the Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale featuring a new interactive public engagement exhibit outfitted with a variety of games and video displays that educate visitors about the importance of safe and smart driving in high-traffic oil and gas production areas.

Source: TxDOT

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