Business Insurance

The BI Top 10: Week of July 24, 2023

Allianz’s revamp of its commercial operations tops this week’s news. Also of note: An AIG unit must pay hefty defense costs to a pair of Illinois companies.

Posted: Jul 30, 2023

Hartford reports 23% profit increase in Q2

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. on Thursday posted second-quarter net income of $542 million, up 23% from the year-earlier period, despite challenges with catastrophes.

Posted: Jul 30, 2023

Woman unsuccessful in squeezing Kraft over mac and cheese

Just how long it takes to peel away the plastic on a microwavable cup of Velveeta Shells and Cheese appeals to be at the heart of a lawsuit that was dismissed by a federal judge Thursday.

Posted: Jul 30, 2023

MMC to buy brokerage in Costa Rica

Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. said Friday it has agreed to acquire Asprose Corredora de Seguros S.A., a brokerage based in Costa Rica.

Posted: Jul 30, 2023

Biden announces progress on heat safety rules

President Joe Biden on Thursday outlined steps his administration is taking to address the consequences of extreme heat, including targeted inspections of industries where workers are at increased risk of heat exposure and the adoption of federal hea...

Posted: Jul 30, 2023

Officer’s comp benefits improperly suspended: Georgia appeals court

A Georgia appellate court ruled the Atlanta Police Department wrongly suspended an injured officer’s workers compensation benefits on the basis that the officer received a return-to-work release from a provider who was not his treating comp physician...

Posted: Jul 30, 2023

Liberty Mutual hires former Axis exec for casualty role

Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. Friday named Allison Janisch as global product leader, casualty, for its global risk solutions business.

Posted: Jul 30, 2023

Nominations close next month for Women to Watch 2023

Nominations for the Business Insurance 2023 Women to Watch Awards close on Aug. 18.

Posted: Jul 30, 2023

Video: The BI Interview with Ryan Flanagan of Heffernan

Ryan Flanagan, senior vice president and real estate practice leader at Heffernan Insurance Brokers, says that in a tough market there are creative strategies insurance buyers can use to secure the coverage they need.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Teva reaches proposed settlement of opioid lawsuits

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries on Tuesday announced a proposed nationwide settlement that could resolve thousands of lawsuits over the drugmaker’s alleged role in the U.S. opioid epidemic.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Aspen notes accounting weaknesses

Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday that it has replaced its auditor after identifying material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Global insured cat losses down 31.6% in H1: Aon

Global insured losses from natural catastrophe events were estimated at $39 billion for the first half of 2022, off 31.6% from first-half 2021’s $57 billion and 18% higher than the 21st-century average of $33 billion, according to a report Tuesday fr...

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Cyber report urges improvements in risk modeling: S&P

Improvements in risk modeling are necessary if future cyber insurance growth is to reflect increased market capacity that is driven by the industry’s appetite rather than by higher rates that stem from a supply-demand mismatch, says a rating agency r...

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Uber need not provide wheelchair access everywhere: Judge

A U.S. judge said Uber Technologies Inc. did not violate a federal law protecting people with disabilities by not offering wheelchair-accessible vehicles in every market the ride-sharing company serves.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

BioNTech, Pfizer sue CureVac over COVID vaccine patent claims

COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech said Tuesday that it and partner Pfizer filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts, seeking a judgment that they did not infringe U.S. patents held by rival CureVac.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Calif. comp claim frequency hits 14-year high for private self-insureds

The California Workers’ Compensation Institute reported that a rise in medical-only and indemnity claim volume in 2021 drove frequency for private self-insured employers to the highest level since 2007.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Brown & Brown posts higher Q2 revenue, profit

Brown & Brown Inc. reported second-quarter revenue of $839.7 million late Monday, up 15.5% from the same period last year, with organic revenue increasing 10.3%.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Workplace homicides falling since 1994

Annual workplace homicides have fallen more than 50% from a high of 1,080 in 1994, yet nonfatal incidents have seen an uptick, according to a report released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice that aimed to identify indicators of workplace vi...

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Crypto exchange Coinbase faces SEC probe: Bloomberg

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Coinbase Global Inc. improperly let Americans trade digital assets that should have been registered as securities, Bloomberg News reported Monday.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Aspen appoints Ernst & Young as accounting firm

Aspen Insurance Holdings Ltd. has appointed Ernst & Young LLP as Aspen’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2022, with effect from July 6, 2022, following receipt of regulatory approval and completion of...

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Loyola University students can pursue class-action COVID case

A federal appeals court on Monday reversed a lower court and held in a divided opinion that students at Loyola University in Chicago can pursue breach of contract litigation in connection with the COVID-19-related cancellation of their in-person clas...

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Coal mine collapse causes severe damage, kills 10 people

A mountainside collapse severely damaged a coal mine owned by Chinese state-owned mining conglomerate Shanxi Coking Coal Group Co. Ltd. in the Gansu province on July 23, killing 10 people while injuring seven others.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Fires account for majority of value of claims in South African businesses

A report by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE said that fires or explosions generate the most expensive losses for businesses in South Africa, accounting for 65% of the value of all claims over the past five years.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

BMS Re buys Mexican reinsurance broker

U.K.-based insurance broker BMS Group Ltd.’s reinsurance arm BMS Re has acquired Mexico-based surety reinsurance broker Calomex Intermediario de Reaseguro, SA de CV for an undisclosed amount.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022

Aviation disruptions will continue for few more years: Qatar Airways CEO

Akbar Al Baker, chief executive of Qatar Airways Co. QCSC, has warned that aviation industry disruptions, mostly stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, will last for another couple of years.

Posted: Jul 26, 2022