Business Insurance

Captive insurance arbitration clause foils class action attempt

Microcaptive owners who alleged they were duped into breaching U.S. tax laws when they formed their captives can’t bring a class action lawsuit against their captive manager but must instead arbitrate their disputes individually with the Arthur J. Ga...

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

WCIRB to amend rate filing to account for COVID-19 claims

The California Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau voted Wednesday to amend its Jan. 1, 2021, pure premium rate filing to reflect updated information on COVID-19 claims, the ratings agency announced in a statement.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Marsh appoints president for Guy Carpenter

Marsh Ltd. named Dean Klisura president of Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC, the reinsurance business of Marsh & McLennan Ltd., effective Oct. 1, 2020.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Cal/OSHA issues $400,000 fine to food plants for COVID violations

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health slapped a food manufacturer and its staffing company with more than $400,000 in combined penalties for allegedly failing to protect workers at two plants from COVID-19, the agency said in a st...

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Work-from-home interruption risk: Woof

Better mute that Zoom session or conference call. The mailman is here. A car is pulling in the driveway. Then there’s the doorbell. The doorbell on a television show. And the inevitable barking for no reason.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Boeing to face independent ethics probe over lunar lander bid

Boeing Co. is submitting to an independent review of its compliance and ethics practices, according to an agreement struck with NASA and the U.S. Air Force and seen by Reuters, part of widening fallout from its behavior in bidding to supply lunar lan...

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Brit names CEO of Lloyd’s syndicate Ki

Brit Ltd. on Thursday named chief financial officer Mark Allan as CEO of Ki, its digital Lloyd’s of London syndicate launched with Google Cloud.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Sedgwick hires former Walmart risk manager David Stills

Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. has hired former Walmart Inc. risk manager David Stills to the newly created position of global risk manager executive.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Beirut blast claims could total $2 billion

Fateh Bekdache, chief executive of Lebanon-based Arope Insurance SAL, said that insurers could face Beirut blast-related claims of $2 billion.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Novartis, Roche fined more than $500 million

The French competition authority has fined Swiss pharmaceutical firms Novartis AG and Roche Holding AG €385 million ($455 million) and €60 million ($71 million), respectively, for alleged anti-competitive practices.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Scor's ILS assets rise 9% to $2.4 billion

French reinsurer Scor SE's insurance-linked securities assets under management rose to $2.4 billion at the end of June from $2.2 billion at the end of last year.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Storm causes nearly $16 million agricultural damage

Storm Laura has caused 920 million Dominican pesos ($15.6 million) worth of agricultural damage in Dominican Republic.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Reinsurer maintains underwriting profitability: Fitch

U.S.-based Fitch Ratings Inc. said that Hong Kong-based Taiping Reinsurance Co. Ltd. has maintained its nonlife underwriting profitability in the first six months of the year

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

COVID-19 could cost tourism sector nearly $120 million

Studies showed that the COVID-19 pandemic could cost Italy's tourism sector €100 billion ($118 billion).

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Lloyd’s of London posts first-half loss due to COVID-19 claims

Lloyd’s of London recorded a pretax loss of £400 million ($520.08 million) in the first half, battered by the coronavirus pandemic, the commercial insurance market said on Thursday.

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

How quickly does #parametric insurance pay out?

An index-based policy is triggered and paid when predefined and measurable event parameters – such as earthquake intensity – are met or exceeded. Does this concept actually work? Let one of our customers tell you. #Innovativerisk

Posted: Sep 10, 2020

Insurer on the hook for professional liability arbitration costs

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. unit has a duty to defend a biopharmaceutical company in arbitration proceedings under its professional services liability coverage, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Posted: Sep 09, 2020

Expert unnecessary in falling wine bottle case

An expert was not needed in a negligence case filed against Costco Wholesale Corp., in a case where a customer claimed he was injured when a wine bottle fell off a conveyor belt, says a federal appeals court, in a divided opinion that overturns a low...

Posted: Sep 09, 2020

Family can’t sue over trench-related death

The family of a man who died two days after a trench collapsed on him can’t sue his employer, an appeals court in Ohio ruled Tuesday, affirming a trial court decision that found the employer was not negligent despite multiple U.S. Occupational Safety...

Posted: Sep 09, 2020

Denver comp program failed to implement recommendations: Auditor

The City and County of Denver’s Department of Finance failed to implement multiple recommendations regarding its workers compensation program made by an audit team in 2018, according to an audit released Thursday.

Posted: Sep 09, 2020

Pennsylvania court to decide if pharmacists have right to intervene in utilization

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case challenging a court decision holding that pharmacists had the right to intervene in the workers compensation utilization review process.

Posted: Sep 09, 2020

Bermuda firm names US surplus lines leader

Bermuda-based runoff management specialist Randall & Quilter Holdings Ltd. on Wednesday named former Aon executive Patrick J. Rastiello as CEO of its newly established U.S. excess and surplus program management business, Accredited Specialty Insuranc...

Posted: Sep 09, 2020

Reinsurance rates expected to continue rising at year-end renewals

Insurers expect reinsurance rates to increase at least 5% at year-end renewals, according to a report issued by Moody’s Investors Services Inc. on Wednesday.

Posted: Sep 09, 2020

Zurich promotes Signorelli to group chief underwriter

Zurich Insurance Group on Wednesday named Sierra Signorelli as group chief underwriting officer and said that the group’s claims function will move to its commercial insurance unit.

Posted: Sep 09, 2020

Ex-VW CEO to face charges of organized commercial fraud

Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn will face charges of conspiracy to commit organized commercial fraud with a high likelihood of conviction, a court probing the carmaker's diesel emissions scandal said on Wednesday.

Posted: Sep 09, 2020