Business Insurance

The BI Top 10: Week of Sept. 28, 2020

News of a cybersecurity breach at Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. has attracted plenty of attention in a week that’s also seen a number of executive moves.

Posted: Oct 02, 2020

Indian insurer's loss widens to $556 million

India-based National Insurance Co. Ltd.'s loss widened to 41 billion Indian rupees ($556 million) in the financial year ended March 31, compared with nearly INR 17 billion in the previous year, due to a huge rise in claims and expenses.

Posted: Oct 02, 2020

Airbnb could face massive fine in Europe for data breach

U.S.-based home-sharing platform Airbnb Inc. could face a potentially "massive" fine for a data breach that allowed some of its users in Europe to view other users' private inboxes last week.

Posted: Oct 02, 2020

African Risk Capacity to insure farmers for climatic risks

South Africa-based insurer African Risk Capacity Ltd. has partnered with Kenyan agricultural insurer Pula to protect African farmers from climatic risks.

Posted: Oct 02, 2020

Premiums rise more than 10% in Hong Kong

The Insurance Authority of Hong Kong said that local insurers' gross written premiums grew 10.2% year-on-year to nearly $567 billion Hong Kong ($73.2 billion) in 2019.

Posted: Oct 02, 2020

Minister calls for pandemic business insurance law

Bruno Le Maire, finance minister of France, said that the country needs a law requiring insurers to cover businesses for losses linked to future pandemics.

Posted: Oct 02, 2020

Takaful premiums rise 5.5% in Qatar

Analysis by Qatar-based Bait Al Mashura Finance Consultations revealed that five takaful insurers' premiums grew 5.5% year-over-year to nearly 1.3 billion Qatari rial ($355 million) in 2019.

Posted: Oct 02, 2020

Kenya suspends insurer capital requirements

The Kenyan government has exempted insurers from complying with capital requirements for six months as they face increased claims and receive lower premiums during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Posted: Oct 02, 2020

Universal Health says corporate network being restored

Universal Health Services Inc. said on Thursday that its corporate network is being restored after a malware incident knocked it out for five days.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Hilton settles SEC case related to executive perks

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will pay $600,000 to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges related to the travel perks it allegedly provided its executives.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Firms may be punished for paying ransoms to sanctioned hackers

Facilitating ransomware payments to sanctioned hackers may be illegal, the U.S. Treasury said on Thursday, signaling a crackdown on the fast-growing market for consultants who help organizations pay off cybercriminals.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Arkema, executives acquitted of charges from 2017 chemical fire

A Texas judge on Thursday acquitted the U.S. arm of French chemical maker Arkema SA and a top executive of criminal recklessness stemming from a 2017 blaze that injured 21 people, a verdict that ended all charges against its managers.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Liberty Mutual providing Lyft driver rideshare cover

Liberty Mutual Insurance Group will provide coverage for drivers using the Lyft rideshare platforms in Arizona, Michigan, New Mexico, Texas and Utah, the insurer said in a statement Thursday.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Berkley unit ordered to cover solar panel company’s claim

A W.R. Berkley Corp. unit is obligated to provide coverage to a solar panel company because of the business interruption that occurred when its solar panels were shut down following a fire, a federal district court ruled.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Claims management data firm buys digital platforms

Ontellus, nationwide full-service procurer of medical, billing, employment records, and other claims related data services, announced Thursday it has acquired digital platforms INTERTEL and MasterTrace.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Technology provides answers for COVID-19 problems

Technology is helping the insurance industry navigate obstacles that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the sector generally been slow to adopt new technology, a panel of experts said.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Hub Security, Marsh team to offer cold storage insurance

Cybersecurity firm Hub Security is teaming with Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. to offer cold storage insurance for U.S.-based financial institutions offering digital asset custodial services, Tel Aviv, Israel-based Hub said in a statement Thursday.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Wholesaler acquires Louisiana-based MGA

Wholesaler CRC Insurance Services Inc. said Thursday it has acquired Shreveport, Louisiana-based managing general agency and surplus lines broker Specialty Risk Associates Inc.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Axis hires underwriters from rivals

Axis Insurance Co. said Thursday it has hired four senior underwriters — two from Chubb Ltd., and one each from Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. and Starr Cos. — to its U.S. management liability team.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Senate panel OKs sending subpoenas to tech CEOs

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday unanimously voted to approve a plan to subpoena chief executives of Twitter, Alphabet’s Google and Facebook for a hearing likely to be held before the election on a prized legal immunity enjoyed by inter...

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Workers comp denied to man who worked other jobs after injury

A man who took several full-duty positions at other companies following his workplace back injury is not entitled to workers compensation, an appellate court ruled Wednesday.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

MedRisk names new president

MedRisk LLC named Danielle Lisenbey president, the workers compensation managed care firm announced Thursday.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

MedRisk recruits Lisenbey from Crawford

MedRisk LLC named former Crawford & Co. executive Danielle Lisenbey president, the workers compensation managed care firm announced Thursday.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

Cal/OSHA fines grocery stores for COVID-19 safety violations

The California Department of Industrial Relations has fined five Los Angeles-area grocery stores between $13,500 and $25,560 for failing to protect workers from exposure to COVID-19 because they did not update their workplace safety plans to properly...

Posted: Oct 01, 2020

UN shipping agency says cyberattack disables website

U.N. shipping agency the International Maritime Organization said on Thursday its website and intranet had been disabled by a sophisticated cyberattack and its IT specialists had shut down key systems to prevent further damage.

Posted: Oct 01, 2020