Business Insurance

DoorDash faces injunction to reclassify some workers as employees

San Francisco’s district attorney on Wednesday filed a preliminary injunction against food delivery firm DoorDash Inc. to reclassify its contractors as employees, days after a judge granted a similar request in a case against ride-hailing firms Uber...

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Wi-Fi, masks make work-from-home checklist for state workers

It may not seem natural to wear a face mask to protect others from the spread of COVID-19 while on a teleconference from the comfort of one’s home office, but Wisconsin’s Department of Natural Resources is requiring it, according to the Milwaukee Jou...

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Zurich Insurance looks to higher prices to cushion COVID-19 hit

Zurich Insurance’s life insurance and property/casualty businesses have taken a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic, but rising commercial insurance rates will provide support, its chief financial officer said on Thursday as the company reported a 40% pro...

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Swiss Re corporate insurance unit promotes execs

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions on Thursday named Allen Kwan as head customer management North America and Daniel Combes as head distribution management North America.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Most employers to require masks in office

Masks will be part of the employee dress code at 60% of U.S companies as offices reopen despite that 15 states do not require face coverings in the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released Wednesday by the marketing agency Clutch.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

California ratings bureau recommends 2.6% comp premium hike

The California Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau’s governing committee voted to recommend a 2.6% increase in pure premium advisory rates in the state over last year, the bureau announced in a statement Wednesday.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

QBE posts $712 million loss due to pandemic, cat claims

Australia-based QBE Insurance Group Ltd. reported a net loss of $712 million in the first half of the year, compared with a profit of $463 million a year earlier, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a rise in catastrophe-related claims.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Shipping firm could be told to pay $1 billion for oil spill

Japan-based Nagashiki Shipping Co. Ltd. could be ordered to pay up to 107 billion Japanese yen ($1 billion) over the spill of more than 1,000 tons of heavy oil from bulk carrier MV Wakashio off the coast of Mauritius.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Chubb upgrades first and third-party cover for tech firms

Chubb Ltd. has launched an upgrade of its first and third-party insurance policy for technology companies in the United Kingdom.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Pandemic, Beirut blast hurt Talanx's profit

German insurer Talanx AG's net profit fell by a third to €325 million ($382 million) in the first half of the year, compared with the same period in 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the blast in Beirut.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Cargo ships detained for alleged labor violations

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has detained at least two cargo ships for alleged labor violations related to demands from the ships' crew to be sent home after spending more than a year at sea.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Heavy rains cause millions of euros of damage

Heavy rains and hail have caused millions of euros of damage in southern Spain.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

UK insurance broker acquires rival

U.K.-based insurance broker The County Group Ltd. has acquired rival CJN Insurance Services Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Which insurers will compensate for oil spill damage?

The National Assembly of Venezuela is investigating an oil spill along the Caribbean coast and has asked state-owned oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela SA the names of the insurers that will compensate for the damage caused by the spill.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

Roper Technologies to buy Vertafore for $5.35 billion

Roper Technologies Inc. said on Thursday it would buy Vertafore Inc., a private equity-owned insurance software vendor, for about $5.35 billion, in what would be its largest takeover deal to date.

Posted: Aug 13, 2020

High court bias ruling cited in employment case

Citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a discrimination case, a federal appeals court has reinstated discrimination and retaliation charges filed by a worker for a Washington county.

Posted: Aug 12, 2020

Pandemic-related factors could hit auto premiums: Deloitte

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. said Wednesday that factors prompted by the pandemic could result in a decline of 3.5% for commercial auto insurance premiums written in 2020.

Posted: Aug 12, 2020

Top billing in theft of medical insurance cash

There are no medical billing codes for vacations, spa treatments, cars and wedding costs, as a Mesa, Arizona, woman recently learned.

Posted: Aug 12, 2020

Petition for COVID-19 temporary standard in California denied

The California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board denied a petition on Monday seeking an emergency temporary standard on COVID-19 protections for employees.

Posted: Aug 12, 2020

Nevada governor signs workplace protection, liability limit law

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak on Tuesday signed into law a bill that would limit liability of employers who follow COVID-19 protocols and create additional worker protections in the state. The bill passed both the state’s Assembly and Senate on Aug. 5 wi...

Posted: Aug 12, 2020

U.S. appeals court reverses antitrust ruling against Qualcomm

A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling against chip supplier Qualcomm Inc. in an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Federal Trade Commission.

Posted: Aug 12, 2020

Mask shortages in health care prompt Cal/OSHA rule changes

The California Department of Industrial Relations this month issued temporary changes to its requirement that health care workers be provided certified respirators in light of N95 mask shortages.

Posted: Aug 12, 2020

Business owners can sue insurer over coronavirus losses, Missouri judge rules

A federal judge in Missouri said on Wednesday a group of hair salons and restaurants can sue their insurer for business interruption losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which they say caused a "direct physical loss" to their premises.

Posted: Aug 12, 2020

Business owners can sue insurer over coronavirus losses

A federal judge in Missouri said on Wednesday a group of hair salons and restaurants can sue their insurer for business interruption losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which they say caused a "direct physical loss" to their premises.

Posted: Aug 12, 2020

Tennessee COVID-19 presumption bill fails

A bill that would have made COVID-19 an occupational illness failed in Tennessee’s Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Tuesday.

Posted: Aug 12, 2020