Overall applications for individual life insurance policies fell 5.9% in December compared with a year ago, according to MIB Group. The decline was most pronounced among people ages 61 to 70, with a 9.2% drop, while activity fell just 0.4% for those 71 and and older.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and ​​Consumer Reports say their vehicle safety ratings will begin assessing how new models monitor the alertness of drivers while partially automated driver-assist systems are in use. Research has shown that such systems can make vehicles more unsafe if they lack features to ensure that drivers remain engaged, IIHS President David Harkey says.

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety has released its 2022 Roadmap of State Highway Safety Laws. Among the findings, the report says California's laws on the safety of vehicle occupants and children are among the strongest in the US, but it identifies shortcomings in the state's impaired-driving laws.

States of emergency are in effect in Virginia and the Carolinas as a storm is poised to hit parts of the Southern US with ice, snow, freezing rain and sleet. The heaviest snow could occur in central North Carolina through southeastern Virginia.

Video footage captured during last month's magnitude 6.2 earthquake near Petrolia, Calif., indicates "we have more work to do" in getting people to take precautions after they receive early warnings from the ShakeAlert system, writes University of Oregon psychology professor Dare Baldwin. ShakeAlert messages, which are delivered via cellphone, remind people to "drop, cover and hold on" to protect themselves during an earthquake, but many people do not seem to follow that advice, Baldwin writes.

Legislation passed by the Florida Senate would allow COVID-19-related liability safeguards for health care providers to remain in effect until June 1, 2023, rather than expire in late March 2022. An identical measure is in the state House Judiciary Committee.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta upheld a previous ruling in favor of an insurance company in a pandemic-related business interruption case involving an operator of hotels and restaurants. The parties agreed that New York state law was applicable in the case, and the ruling found that the "alleged losses are not covered under the all-risks provision as a matter of New York law."

A report by Fitch suggests there is sufficient capital in the reinsurance market, despite the impact of catastrophes in 2021. "While the issuance activity of traditional reinsurers slowed in 2021 compared to 2020, the better underlying profitability helped them to strengthen their balance sheets," Fitch notes.

The US will require non-US essential workers to be prepared to show proof of vaccination when crossing land borders starting Saturday. The announcement from the Department of Homeland Security could affect workers such as nurses and truck drivers.

Cargo theft patterns are changing, with locations such as warehouses and depots facing a growing share of the risk, according to a report by BSI and freight insurer TT Club. "There is little doubt that the problems of supply-chain disruption that are currently bedeviling the US freight transport system -- particularly that of container congestion at ports and inland hubs -- is creating increased opportunities for thieves," said TT Club's Mike Yarwood.