Business Insurance

Deputy’s claim for PTSD related to disciplinary investigation denied

A 24-year deputy with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department in Oregon saw her claim for post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by a meeting with supervisors denied Wednesday by a state appeals court.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

Comp premiums unlikely to recover before 2023: Deloitte

Workers compensation insurance premiums could drop by nearly 20% in the second quarter of 2020 and are unlikely to recover before 2023, according to a report released Thursday by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

Novartis faces key meeting in U.S. bribery scandal

Swiss drugmaker Novartis, fresh from settling U.S. charges over alleged kickbacks to doctors, is preparing for a key meeting next week with U.S. prosecutors that could lead to the resolution of a decade-old bribery scandal.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

The BI Top 10: Week of June 22, 2020

Mergers and acquisitions have been much in the news this week, with the combination of Ryan Specialty Group LLC and All Risks Ltd. generating the most interest. On the coronavirus front, more than 20 minor league baseball teams sued their insurers fo...

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

10,000 people join class action against EasyJet

Around 10,000 people have joined a group class action against U.K.-based budget airline EasyJet PLC after personal details of nine million customers were breached.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

NN Group expects $112 million hit from COVID-19 pandemic

Dutch insurer NN Group NV expects to take a €100 million ($112 million) hit on its operating profit this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

GIC Re's profit nearly doubles

Reinsurer General Insurance Corporation of India's net profit nearly doubled year-over-year to around 12 billion Indian rupees ($159 million) in the quarter ended March 31.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

UK firms suffer worst cyber attack losses: Survey

A survey by Bermuda-based insurer Hiscox Ltd. of eight countries found that a U.K.-based financial services firm suffered the largest amount of loss of £71 million ($88 million) following a cyber attack last year.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

Russian insurers' pre-tax profit rises more than 19%

A report by the Central Bank of Russia said that local insurers' aggregate pre-tax profit increased more than 19% to nearly 72 billion Russian ruble ($1 billion) in the first quarter of this year.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

Insurer pays COVID-19 business interruption claims

South Africa-based insurer OUTsurance Holdings Ltd. has set aside 220 million South African rand ($13 million) for business interruption claims related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

Increased checks of Chinese electronics hits supply chain

The Indian Cellular and Electronics Association said that the government's adverse action against electronics imported from China has negatively impacted the supply chain.

Posted: Jun 26, 2020

The III to fold into The Institutes

The Insurance Information Institute, one of the few remaining independent trade associations representing the property/casualty industry is to be folded into The Institutes in a deal to be finalized in July.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Nominations open for Women to Watch 2020

Business Insurance is accepting nominations for the 2020 Women to Watch Awards.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Insurer must defend opioid distributor

An insurer must defend a pharmaceutical wholesaler distributor being sued by governmental entities in connection with its distribution of opioids, even though the entities themselves did not suffer bodily injuries, says an Ohio appeals court, in over...

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

SEC accounting and auditing enforcements decline: Report

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission initiated 57 enforcement actions involving accounting and auditing allegations in 2019, an 11% decline from the 64 actions initiated in 2018, according to a research report issued Thursday.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Most office workers OK with temperature checks: Survey

Fifty-three percent of office workers surveyed in late April say they are comfortable with going back to work and of them, 73% say they would be OK with workplace temperature checks, according to results released Thursday by New York-based human reso...

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Get your disability check, head out on the highway

A Santa Ana, California, police officer who injured his wrist during a pursuit in 2017 allegedly went full throttle on workers compensation fraud after investigators found that he had ridden his motorcycle, among other activities.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

McDonald’s ordered to train workers on social distancing

Several McDonald’s franchises were ordered to train workers about social distancing and enforce mask policies in a court ruling Wednesday.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Time is now for insurance industry to embrace D&I: Experts

The insurance industry has made strides toward creating a more diverse and inclusive working environment, but it still has a long way to go, said a group of panelists Wednesday at Business Insurance’s webinar, “A New Era for Diversity & Inclusion: Wh...

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

District of Columbia sues 4 oil companies over climate change

The attorney general for the District of Columbia on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp., BP PLC, Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC for “systematically and intentionally misleading” consumers about the role their products play in...

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Bayer bets on science in bid to prevent future Roundup suits

Seeking to forestall further claims, Bayer AG is taking a risky bet that an independent scientific review will ultimately show that its widely used weed killer Roundup does not cause cancer, legal experts said.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

California wants judge to classify Uber, Lyft drivers as employees

California plans to ask a state court judge to force Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. to classify their ride-hail drivers as employees rather than contractors, ratcheting up the tension over a new gig worker law.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Insurtech Lemonade plans to raise up to $286 million in IPO

Insurance startup Lemonade Inc., which is backed by SoftBank Group Corp., said on Thursday it was looking to raise up to $286 million in its U.S. initial public offering, as the IPO market gains momentum after COVID-19 put many debuts on hold.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

Italy's top insurer Generali to buy 24.4% of rival Cattolica

(Reuters) — Italy's top insurer Assicurazioni Generali SpA has agreed to buy 24.4% of smaller rival Società Cattolica di Assicurazione SC, the two companies said on Thursday, in a surprise move that will boost Cattolica's capital position.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020

China gives Hong Kong insurers preferential treatment

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has extended preferential treatment for the Hong Kong insurance industry until June 30, 2021.

Posted: Jun 25, 2020