The National Insurance Producer Registry, which was created to improve the licensing process for insurance agents and brokers, is adding a service to help agencies and insurance brokerage firms update their contact information. The service already is available in Arizona, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota and Rhode Island, and will be rolled out to other states in phases.

Another round of Build America Bonds as part of President Joe Biden's $2 trillion infrastructure plan would give life insurance companies an opportunity to further invest in underserved communities, Bruce Ferguson of the American Council of Life Insurers said during NAIFA's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Impact Week. The best way to do that, Ferguson said, would be for insurers to "partner with foundations and community groups that have close ties to underserved communities."

Nebraska this week became the ninth state to adopt an annuity sales rule based on a model law created by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Similar regulation is being considered in other states including Alabama, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, Nevada, Texas and Virginia.

The latest Most Wanted List from the National Transportation Safety Board recommends that collision-avoidance and connected-vehicle technologies should be mandatory for all vehicles. The list also calls for robust measures to prevent speeding-related crashes, distracted driving, and drug- and alcohol-impaired driving.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders have proposed spending $536 million on measures to curtail wildfire risk. More than $350 million would go toward fire-prevention measures such as vegetation reduction, while $25 million will go toward improving the fire resistance of older homes.

Legislation in California that would require the creation of a statewide medical provider network are among the bills introduced in the state that are creating concern within the workers' compensation industry. Another bill would establish a rebuttable presumption for health care workers and contains a wide-ranging definition of "injury" that would include COVID-19; Mark Walls of Safety National says presumptions are problematic because they "change the ground rules" of workers' comp.

Studies of workers' compensation performance indicators in 18 states through March 2020 offer a "good baseline" for assessing how the coronavirus pandemic has affected claims, the Workers' Compensation Research Institute says. The performance indicators that were evaluated include average total cost per claim, with data showing stability in some states and moderate increases in others.

This year's Atlantic hurricane season is forecast to bring 17 named storms, eight of which will become hurricanes, with four reaching Category 3 or higher, according to the Colorado State University Tropical Meteorology Project. Those totals would exceed the 30-year average for 1991 through 2000.

An EF0 tornado with 80-mph wind speeds damaged an elementary school in Tennessee's Cumberland County on Thursday, forcing students to take shelter. The tornado also caused damage to a nursing home and a community center, and some minor injuries were reported.

A measure that would establish coronavirus-related liability protections for businesses in Texas has gained the state Senate's approval. The bill now heads to the House.