Business Insurance

D&O market hardens even more amid pandemic

An already hardening directors and officers liability insurance market is becoming even tougher for buyers during the COVID-19 pandemic, with rates increasing further, available limits contracting, retentions rising and in some cases insolvency exclu...

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

Excess liability capacity shrinks as rates shoot up

Buyers of excess liability and umbrella coverage faced the one-two punch of soaring rates and a capacity crunch at July 1 renewals, market sources say.

Posted: Jul 07, 2020

Chubb estimates $1.8B in Q2 global cat losses

Chubb Ltd. said Monday it estimates $1.81 billion in net pretax global catastrophe losses for the second quarter, the vast majority of which are COVID-19 related, or $1.51 billion after tax.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

High court bolsters law banning ‘robocalls’

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld and strengthened a law banning the broadly unpopular but ubiquitous telemarketing practice known as robocalls, striking down an exemption to the measure that had allowed automated calls for collection of certai...

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

TigerRisk hires Aon reinsurance executive

Joe Jackson has joined TigerRisk Partners LLC’s North American team, the Stamford, Connecticut-based reinsurance brokerage said Monday.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Court rules for insurer in restaurant owner’s COVID-19 claim

The owner of two central Michigan restaurants can’t recover revenue lost during the coronavirus lockdown under a business interruption policy because the properties did not sustain a direct physical loss, a state court judge ruled last week.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Dakota pipeline investors could face major hit after adverse ruling

Large investors in the Dakota Access Pipeline, including Phillips 66, could be on the hook for hundreds of millions in payments, after a U.S. court on Monday ordered the owners of the major artery to shut it down and empty it of oil.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Pastoral activities not volunteer work for comp purposes

The church pastoral activities of a workers compensation claimant are not volunteer work for the purposes of continued disability benefits, an appellate court ruled Thursday.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Pilot’s claims that FedEx violated whistleblower statute rejected

A pilot for Federal Express Corp. failed to show that the delivery company violated air carrier safety whistleblower protection laws.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

RLI wins dispute over surety bond

A federal appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling and held the former partial owner of a now-bankrupt energy company must compensate RLI Insurance Co. in connection with the firm’s failure to meet its bond obligations.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Ruling against mechanic’s widow upheld in asbestos comp case

The widow of an industrial plant mechanic failed to provide medical evidence in a manner that meets state filing requirements to prove that work-related exposure to asbestos caused his lung cancer and subsequent death, a New York appeals court ruled...

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Ryan executive Mike Rice announces retirement

Mike Rice Sr., chairman and CEO of RSG Underwriting Managers LLC, a Ryan Specialty Group LLC division, plans to retire at the end of the year, the company said Monday.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Climate battles moving into court, lawyers getting creative

With the slow pace of international climate negotiations, lawyers from Switzerland to San Francisco are increasingly filing lawsuits demanding action.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

UK insurer Aviva appoints Blanc as CEO, strategy shake-up seen

Aviva named independent director and former Zurich Insurance executive Amanda Blanc as its new chief executive on Monday.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Australian Open can’t renew coverage, faces huge loss

The Australian Open tennis tournament could lose hundreds of millions of dollars as it will not be eligible for any insurance payout next year because the pandemic insurance policy will expire this year.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Life Insurance may be converted into a reinsurer

South Korean investment consulting firm JC & Partners Co. Ltd., which is buying a nearly 93% stake in KDB Life Insurance Co. Ltd., could transform the life insurer into a reinsurer to compete against Korean Reinsurance Co.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

European insurers' profitability to face pressure

A report by U.S.-based Moody's Investors Service Inc. said that European property/casualty insurers' profitability will come under increasing pressure as interest rates are likely to stay low for longer than expected amid global slowdown.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Chlorine gas leak at plant sickens 70 workers

A chlorine gas leak at Iran-based Karoon Petrochemical Co.'s plant in Mahshahr city sickened 70 workers on July 4.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Tokio Marine launches remote loss prevention service

Japan-based Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. Ltd. has launched a complementary remote loss prevention service for its corporate clients.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Heavy rains, floods cause $6 billion damage

Heavy rains and floods have destroyed 17,000 homes and caused nearly $6 billion worth of damage in China so far this year.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Wave of insurance broker M&As expected

Egypt's insurance market expects to see a wave of mergers and acquisitions among brokers following the Financial Regulatory Authority's decision in June to stop issuing new licenses for a year.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

Aviation premiums slide 22%

Data released by the Central Insurance of Iran showed that aviation insurance premiums declined 22% year-over-year in March and April due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

No need to fear Parametric solutions

Cat in a Box, Single Trigger, Intensity. What do all these terms have to do with Parametric Insurance?Swiss Re Corporate Solutions breaks it all down.

Posted: Jul 06, 2020

The BI Top 10: Week of June 29, 2020

Aon topped the news this week with its decision to end a 20% coronavirus-related salary cut imposed on most of its staff. Also of note: Insurtech startup Lemonade’s rousing IPO, which saw its shares surge 73% in their first day of trading.

Posted: Jul 03, 2020

Three contactors to pay $225 million each in settlement

Dutch construction firm Royal BAM Group, German civil engineering company Bilfinger SE and construction firm Ed. Zublin AG will pay €200 million ($225 million) each to German city Cologne to settle liabilities arising from the collapse of the city's...

Posted: Jul 03, 2020