June 2022

Too risky to insure? Why your homeowner’s insurance could go up in smoke

Too risky to insure? Why your homeowner’s insurance could go up in smoke

Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes

SUMMIT PARK — There are good reasons insurance companies drop customers from their homeowner’s policies: non-payment, not taking care of the property, or too many claims.

None of that applied to Peter Ingle, who has lived in his home nestled in the forests of Summit Park for 25 years.

In August 2021, his neighborhood was evacuated when faulty parts on a passing vehicle sparked the Parley’s Canyon Fire off Interstate 80. The fire burned more than 500 acres.

The wildfire triggered a visit from Ingle’s homeowners insurance company, Allstate, shortly thereafter.

“My insurance company called and said they’re coming out to just check out the areas around our homes to make sure they’re sort of fire safe,” Ingle said. “We didn’t think much of it.”

In November 2021, Ingle said he got bad news: Allstate was dropping his insurance.

Ingle called his insurance agent, who assured Ingle he was working with Allstate to change their minds.

When February came around, Ingle’s agent still didn’t have good news.

“He goes, ‘The reality isn’t your property, it’s the adjacent that’s the problem,” Ingle explained.

In the letter sent to Ingle from Allstate, the reason given for

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Large U.S. law firms mostly quiet on abortion ruling, are walking a ‘tightrope’

June 26 (Reuters) – The largest U.S. law firms did not take a public stance following the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade on Friday, diverging from the approach of some major companies that have made statements on the closely watched abortion case.

The high court’s 6-3 Dobbs decision upheld a Republican-backed Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Many states are expected to further restrict or ban abortions following the ruling.

Reuters on Friday asked more than 30 U.S. law firms, including the 20 largest by total number of lawyers, for comments on the Dobbs ruling and whether they would cover travel costs for employees seeking an abortion.

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The vast majority did not respond by Saturday afternoon, and only two, Ropes & Gray and Morrison & Foerster, said they would implement such a travel policy.

Morrison & Foerster, with nearly 1,000 attorneys, was the only large firm to issue a public statement by Saturday afternoon.

The firm’s chair, Larren Nashelsky, said Morrison & Foerster would “redouble our efforts to protect abortion and other reproductive rights.”

The Dobbs decision has been expected since a

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Analysis-U.S. Mass Shooting Insurance Rates Jump as Incidents Rise | Top News

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Carolyn Cohn

(Reuters) – The cost of buying insurance protection against mass shootings has spiked more than 10% in the United States this year following a string of deadly events, insurers said.

The United States witnessed 293 mass shootings so far this year, according to a report by the Gun Violence Archive them as any event involving the shooting of four or more people other than the assailant. That compares with 309 the same period last year, but is sharply up from 240 in 2020.

Demand for such insurance has risen following recent shootings, including the murder of 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school last month, the United States’ worst school shooting in nearly a decade.

Active shooter insurance typically covers victim lawsuits, building repairs, legal fees, medical expenses and trauma counseling.

“The number of inquiries we’ve been receiving over the last few weeks have definitely spiked … we haven’t been as busy as this ever before,” said Chris Parker, Head of Political Violence and Deadly Weapons Protection at Lloyd’s of London insurer Beazley.

Parker said the insurer had seen a 25% jump in revenue so far this year for its

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Tesla hires new lawyer in compliance role amid legal battles

The logo of car manufacturer Tesla is seen at a branch office in Bern, Switzerland. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

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(Reuters) – Tesla Inc has hired Michael Munro to handle compliance issues, according to a post from Munro on his LinkedIn account Tuesday, as the electric-car maker and its CEO Elon Musk face mounting legal challenges.

Munro will serve as associate general counsel for global compliance. Tesla did not confirm the hire nor did it immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.

Munro jumps to Tesla from a part-time position as general counsel at logistics platform company e2Log and a role at compliance consulting firm GCMR, which his LinkedIn profile said he co-founded.

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Tesla and Musk, who is the world’s richest person, are fighting on several legal fronts, including with the Securities and Exchange Commission over a 2018 agreement to have Musk’s Twitter posts vetted.

Tesla also faces several labor lawsuits, the latest of which alleges the company failed to provide legally-required advance notice to employees ahead of a

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Atlanta lawyers will rep anyone prosecuted for abortions for free

Attorney Drew Findling issued a similar statement following the decision.

“The Findling Law Firm is committed to fighting to restore a woman’s right to choose which has been destroyed by the Supreme Court in the Dobbs decision,” he said. “We will defend anyone prosecuted under Georgia’s anti-abortion ‘heartbeat law’ free of charge and do everything we can to help right this wrong through advocacy across the country.”

ExploreAtlanta Mayor Dickens ‘sickened’ by Roe decision; area DAs vow not to prosecute

Law enforcement agencies across the state are taking a wait-and-see approach in enforcing the Georgia abortion law until it actually goes into effect. House Bill 481, which was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp in 2019, outlaws most abortions when a doctor can detect fetal cardiac activity, which is typically around six weeks of pregnancy.

The law has been stalled by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which was awaiting the Supreme Court decision. On Friday afternoon, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said his office had filed a notice in the 11th Circuit requesting a reversal of the District Court’s decision and allow the law to go into effect.

Savannah Police Department spokeswoman Bianca Johnson said since abortion

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