Patricia Wells

The U.S. government has decided to push back new safety rules for cars after car makers raised concerns. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced on Friday that updates to its New Car Assessment Program, originally set to take effect this month for the 2026 model year, will now start in the 2027 model … Read more

The MEMIC Group, a specialist in workers’ compensation insurance, is set to grow significantly after agreeing to buy The Dakota Group along with its affiliated companies. This deal will combine the two businesses and create one of the largest multi-state workers’ compensation providers in the U.S. By 2025, the new combined company expects to handle … Read more

A former insurance agent from Texas will spend five years in federal prison for overcharging nearly $300,000 in insurance premiums. Carlyle Poindexter pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was also fined $50,000. The scam came to light after an investigation by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). Poindexter worked with another agent, … Read more

In a recent decision, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled against expanding insurance coverage in a tragic case involving a drunk-driving accident that took five lives. The case stemmed from a 2019 crash on Interstate 75, where driver Joey Lee Bailey, reportedly overserved at two Georgetown bars, struck a vehicle carrying the Abbas family. All six … Read more

California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara announced plans on Friday to reform a key part of the state’s insurance law known as Proposition 103. Passed by voters back in 1988, Prop. 103 sets rules for how insurance rates are reviewed and approved. One feature of this law lets outside groups, called intervenors, take part in insurance … Read more

IMA Financial Group has made two important leadership hires in its Houston office to better serve clients in the area. Joey Dryden has been named Houston Market President. He has been with IMA since 2021 and played a key role in building the company’s presence in the city. In his new role, Dryden will keep … Read more

Natural gas prices in West Texas have fallen to their lowest point in nearly 14 months, even dipping below zero recently. This unusual drop is tied to pipeline maintenance in the area, which has limited the flow of gas and caused a buildup of supply. At the Waha hub, a key center for gas trading … Read more

A Russian man linked to the cargo ship involved in the deadly 2020 Beirut port explosion has been arrested in Bulgaria, Lebanese officials confirmed on Monday. Igor Grechushkin, the ship’s owner, was detained last week at Sofia’s airport after arriving from Cyprus. Grechushkin, who also holds Cypriot citizenship, is wanted by Lebanon, where investigative authorities … Read more

OpenAI recently fixed a security flaw in its ChatGPT system that could have put users’ Gmail data at risk. The vulnerability was found in the Deep Research agent, a feature introduced in February to help people analyze large amounts of information more easily. This tool can connect to users’ Gmail accounts if they give permission, … Read more

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to consider a significant change on Wednesday that could let companies going public require shareholders to settle disputes through private arbitration instead of court cases. This move could reduce investors’ ability to sue companies in open courts. For years, the SEC has had an informal rule that … Read more