Business Insurance

CNA expects underwriting loss as COVID-19 claims mount

CNA Financial Corp. expects to report a $210 million underwriting loss when it publishes its second-quarter results next month, but a rebound in investment markets and other investment gains will keep the insurer in the black for the quarter, CNA sai...

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

Aquarium divers who feed, clean fall under OSHA exemption

Dives conducted by employees of the Houston Aquarium are “scientific diving” and fall under an exemption to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s commercial diving standard, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held in a decision...

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

YouTube not liable for user copyright breaches

Google LLC’s YouTube and other online platforms are not liable when users illegally upload copyrighted works onto their platforms, but rightsholders can ask for injunctions against the companies, a European Union Court of Justice adviser said on Thur...

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

Senator Warner asks for probe of Twitter hacks

U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Virginia) called on Thursday for Twitter Inc. to investigate how hackers gained access to the social media company's internal systems to hijack accounts of several politicians, billionaires, celebrities and companies, and...

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

Ex-Blue Bell president wins dismissal of listeria charges

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed charges against the former president of Blue Bell Creameries, who U.S. prosecutors said concealed from customers what the company knew about contaminated ice cream linked to a 2015 listeria outbreak.

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

Pension fund manager boosts investment in Swiss Re sidecar

Swiss Re Ltd. said that Dutch pension fund manager PGGM has increased its investment in Swiss Re’s sidecar vehicle, Viaduct Re Ltd., a special purpose insurer and segregated accounts company, to over $500 million.

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

Arceo.ai names chief underwriting officer for US operations

Cyber analytics company Arceo.ai has named Charles J. Pruzinsky to the new position of executive vice president and chief underwriting officer for its U.S. operations,

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

Gallagher Better Works℠ Insights COVID-19 Report:

Returning to the Workplace in a New Reality: How to encourage resiliency in your people, build confidence in your organization, and prepare for the future of work. Click here for report.

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

Changing the verdict on social inflation

A higher threshold for loss is probably here to stay. Helmsman Management Service is working to help protect businesses from every angle with an approach that includes underwriting, claims, and legal expertise. Get the details.

Posted: Jul 16, 2020

Judge dismisses COVID cruise lawsuits, warns of 'trivial cases'

A federal judge dismissed lawsuits by Grand Princess cruise ship passengers who sued for emotional distress caused by their fear of exposure to COVID-19, saying that allowing their cases to proceed would “lead to a flood of trivial suits.”

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Houston Rockets sue FM Global unit for COVID-19 coverage

The Houston Rockets basketball organization and its venue the Toyota Center sued FM Global’s midmarket unit on Wednesday seeking business interruption coverage for coronavirus-related losses.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Groupon risk manager moves to claims role at Marsh

Former Groupon Inc. risk manager Liz Walker joined brokerage Marsh LLC on Monday as strategic claims and client engagement leader.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Luxurious lies lead to fraud indictment

A 23-year-old man in Holbrook, Massachusetts, was riding in the fraud fast lane until someone reported their suspicions to the Massachusetts Insurance Fraud Bureau.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Vermont enacts COVID-19 presumption law

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott on Monday signed into law a bill that would help frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic gain access to workers compensation benefits.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Health club fails to dispute comp claim in time

A health club failed to timely file dispute forms to defend against a workers compensation claim filed by one of its employees and can no longer defend the claim, an appeals court in Connecticut ruled Tuesday.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Calif. comp premium rates expected to drop 20% in 2020

With the rapid economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic combined with continued insurer rate decreases in California, statewide workers compensation premium is forecast to drop by over 20% in 2020, according to a report released Tuesday...

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Google faces lawsuit over tracking in apps

Alphabet Inc.’s Google records what people are doing on hundreds of thousands of mobile apps even when they follow the company’s recommended settings for stopping such monitoring, a lawsuit seeking class-action status alleged on Tuesday.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Beazley syndicates seek to rescind church’s sexual misconduct policy

Lloyd’s of London syndicates managed by Beazley PLC on Monday sued the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis seeking to rescind sexual misconduct excess liability coverage it had issued to the church.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Massachusetts sues Uber, Lyft over driver status as contractors

Massachusetts on Tuesday followed California in suing Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. over allegedly misclassifying their drivers as independent contractors instead of employees entitled to extensive benefits.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Shipping losses decline to record low: Allianz

Shipping losses have declined dramatically over the past 10 years to a record yearly low, even as political tensions and piracy raise concerns, according to a report released Wednesday by Allianz Global Corporate and Specialty.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Green Plains sues ADM, alleging ethanol market manipulation

Green Plains Inc., one of the biggest U.S. ethanol producers, sued Archer Daniels Midland Co. on Tuesday, accusing the global grain trader of manipulating the price of the biofuel to profit from its positions in the derivatives market.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Contractors to pay nearly $700 million for collapse

The consortium of German civil engineering company Bilfinger SE and construction firms Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau AG and Ed. Zublin AG has agreed to pay €600 million ($682 million) to settle claims arising from the collapse of Cologne city's archiv...

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

UK's ban of Huawei could hurt mobile providers

The United Kingdom's phased removal of China-based Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. from its 5G network could hurt local mobile providers that have relied on the company's equipment for nearly 20 years.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Allianz acquires Brazilian insurer

Germany-based Allianz SE has completed the acquisition of Brazilian insurer SulAmerica SA's property/casualty and car insurance unit for around €500 million ($569 million).

Posted: Jul 15, 2020

Insurer to appeal business interruption ruling

South Africa-based Guardrisk Insurance Co. Ltd. plans to appeal a high court ruling requiring it to pay local restaurant Cafe Chameleon's COVID-19 pandemic-related business interruption claim.

Posted: Jul 15, 2020