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Insurance Journal’s Most Noteworthy Topics of 2020: South Central Region
Hurricanes, Hurricanes and Tropical Storms
It can’t come as any surprise that hurricanes and tropical storms topped the list of the most read subjects of interest in Insurance Journal’s South Central region. In a North Atlantic hurricane season for the record books there were 30 named storms, of which 12 made landfall in the U.S., five of them in Louisiana alone.
While the total insurance price tag for the U.S. storms was $20 billion, the amount was moderate compared to the record seasons of 2005 and 2017, according to Swiss Re. Damage was still done, as Louisiana residents who are still in recovery mode from the seemingly unending spate of storms can attest.
Four more defendants pleaded guilty Thursday in a conspiracy to stage a New Orleans vehicle accident for $4.7 million in insurance payouts.
That brings to 15 the number of people, out of 33 defendants, who have admitted guilt in a wide-ranging federal investigation of drivers, passengers, other accomplices and a lawyer accused of intentionally crashing vehicles into tractor-trailer rigs.
2015 wreck begat $4.7 million payoff for attorneys, defendants, grand jury says
The latest are Anthony Robinson, 67, Audrey Harris, 53, Jerry Schaffer, 66, and Keishira Robinson, 26, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
Prosecutors said Harris, Schaeffer and Keishira Robinson were riding in a vehicle owned by Anthony Robinson when its driver, Roderick Hickman, steered it into a tractor trailer on Oct. 13, 2015, at Alvar Street and France Road. Hickman, known as a slammer, hopped out and entered another vehicle driven by Damian Labeaud, a spotter. Anthony Robinson exited L