Business Insurance

N.Y. worker bill to handle trauma, COVID introduced

Lawmakers in New York on Thursday introduced a bill that would help frontline workers such as emergency responders and hospital workers grappling with trauma related to their work in caring for patients with COVID-19.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Charles Taylor adds comp, Defense Base Act claims handling

Charles Taylor Insurance Services Ltd. has added workers compensation and Defense Base Act claims handling and medical management services to its offerings, the London-based claims and risk management firm released in a statement Wednesday.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Florida announces $27.6M comp premium refund

Nearly 13,000 workers compensation policyholders in Florida will receive premium refunds totaling $27.6 million, the state’s chief financial officer announced Wednesday in a statement.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Judge dismisses workers comp lawsuit against Liberty Mutual

A district court judge on Wednesday dismissed a putative class-action lawsuit filed against Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. by a client who claimed the Boston-based insurer overcharged for workers compensation insurance.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

COVID comp cover ‘manageable’ for industry: A.M. Best

Legislative changes allowing workers compensation coverage due to COVID-19 will result in an increase in loss estimates and a potential earnings hit for the insurance companies, according an analysis released Thursday by A.M. Best.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty merges regional units

Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE on Friday said board members Sinéad Browne and Hartmut Mai will resign and leave the company, effective June 30, as it consolidates its two regional units outside North America into one.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Perspectives: Insurers can lead on addressing social inequality risks

We must act. This is the plea we are hearing from our streets. It’s the realization we hear in our own heads during quiet moments of self-reflection. And it’s the refrain we are starting to hear from some corporate C-suites that are coming to grips w...

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Lights, cameras, action: Hello, Dolly!

Soap opera productions seeking to ramp up filming and keep things steamy in a time of COVID-19 social distancing protocols are using sex dolls as props for love-making scenes, according to numerous news outlets.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

The BI Top 10: Week of June 15, 2020

Several stories not directly related to the coronavirus pandemic broke into this week’s Top 10, including Lloyd’s of London’s reckoning with its past involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision protecting LGBT worker...

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Former RSA Ireland CFO fined and disqualified

The Central Bank of Ireland has fined Rory O'Connor, former chief financial officer of RSA Ireland Insurance DAC, €70,000 ($78,595) and disqualified him from working in a financial services company for more than eight years.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Hackers demand $800,000 ransom from beverage firm

Hackers responsible for cyber attacks on Australian food and beverage maker Lion Pty. Ltd. have threatened to auction or publish confidential company data online if they are not paid a ransom of $800,000.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Hong Kong insurer mulls stake sale in reinsurance subsidiary

Hong Kong-based China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co. Ltd. is considering selling a 25% stake in its subsidiary Taiping Reinsurance Co. Ltd. for more than $3 billion Hong Kong ($387 million).

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Commission renews $6.2 billion reinsurance program

The New Zealand Earthquake Commission has renewed its reinsurance worth $6.2 billion.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Air New Zealand expects $77 million pre-tax loss due to pandemic

A report said that Air New Zealand Ltd. expects to report pre-tax loss of $120 million New Zealand ($77 million) during the financial year ending June 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

Turkish reinsurer's premiums rise 26%

Turkey-based reinsurer Milli Reasurans TAS' premiums increased nearly 26% year-over-year to around 1.7 billion Turkish lira ($248 million) in 2019.

Posted: Jun 19, 2020

AmTrust, former finance chief settle SEC probe for $10.5 million

AmTrust Financial Services Inc. and its former chief financial officer have agreed to pay $10.5 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges the insurer failed to disclose details of loss reserve estimates.

Posted: Jun 18, 2020

Markel suit against claims adjuster time barred

Litigation filed by a Markel Corp. unit against a claims adjuster, whose alleged negligence cost it more than $250,000 in legal fees plus having to pay $1 million over its policy limit, is time barred, says a federal appeals court Thursday, in affirm...

Posted: Jun 18, 2020

Trump to nominate lawyer Crenshaw to fill SEC slot

The White House announced on Thursday that President Donald Trump intends to nominate Caroline Crenshaw to fill a Democratic vacancy at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Posted: Jun 18, 2020

Tokio Marine unit not obligated to indemnify telecom

A Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. unit is not obligated to advance defense funds nor indemnify a telecommunications company in wage and hour litigation because these are not covered under its directors and officers liability insurance policy, a federal ap...

Posted: Jun 18, 2020

Worker’s irritable bowel disorder compensable

An automotive supervisor’s irritable bowel disorder is covered by workers compensation because it stemmed from his workplace puncture wound, an appellate court held Tuesday.

Posted: Jun 18, 2020

Order will give workers easier access to comp for COVID

Certain classes of employees in Michigan who believe they have contracted coronavirus on the job may be entitled to workers compensation under an executive order signed Wednesday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Posted: Jun 18, 2020

Lunchtime slip and fall compensable work injury: High court

The injury suffered by an insurance claims associate who slipped and fell on a wet floor during her lunch break is compensable under Georgia workers compensation law because having lunch was “incidental to employment,” the state’s highest court ruled...

Posted: Jun 18, 2020

Online retailer, luxury brand sue counterfeit shoeseller

When shooing Buffalo, New York-based Kaitlyn Pan Group LLC off the Amazon selling platform over the discount company’s imitations of luxury shoes by Italian brand Valentino didn’t work to curb the sale of knockoffs, the online retailer and the Italia...

Posted: Jun 18, 2020

Ex-Morgan Stanley diversity officer says budget was slashed

A lawyer representing a former Morgan Stanley diversity officer who is suing the bank over racial discrimination said on Wednesday the bank cut her client's budget for promoting diversity and financial education by 71% from the time she started in we...

Posted: Jun 18, 2020