Business Insurance

Colorado COVID presumption bill stalls

A Colorado bill that would have made it easier for essential workers to receive workers compensation for contracting coronavirus has stalled in committee.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Employers CEO announces intention to resign

Employers Holdings Inc.’s president and CEO Douglas Dirks announced he intends to step down from the company in 2021, the workers compensation insurer announced in a statement Tuesday.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Insurance transactions drop sharply amid pandemic

Commercial insurance activity slowed drastically during the COVID-19 lockdown, according to a report released Thursday by insurance exchange Ivans Insurance Services.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

StarStone recapitalizes US operations, changes management

Specialty and surplus lines insurer StarStone U.S. Holdings Inc. announced new executive management and a $630 million capital injection on Thursday.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Life insurance gets convenient in Japan

Big Gulp, jumbo beef frank, and the assurance that one’s spouse and children will not go without in the event of one’s untimely death. 7-Eleven stores in Japan will soon begin offering life insurance out of “multifunction” vending machines, according...

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Safety group calls on OSHA to create emergency COVID standard

The National Safety Council is calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to “immediately” create an emergency standard for workers facing COVID-19 exposure, the Itasca, Illinois-based organization said in a statement Thursday.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

States accuse 26 drugmakers of generic drug price fixing

Twenty-six drug manufacturers were sued Wednesday by the attorneys general of most U.S. states and several territories, which accused them of conspiring to reduce competition and drive up generic drug prices.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

New York charges Endo with insurance fraud over opioid claims

New York state filed civil charges on Wednesday accusing Endo International PLC of insurance fraud for misrepresenting the safety and efficacy of its opioid drugs, adding fuel to the nation's opioid crisis.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Uber, Lyft drivers are employees: California regulator

Drivers working for ride-hailing services such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. will be considered employees under California's new gig worker law, the state's leading industry regulator said on Thursday.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Japanese nonlife insurers' premium growth to shrink: Fitch

A report by Fitch Ratings Inc. predicts that Japanese nonlife insurers' premium growth will shrink in the year ending March 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Hospitality, travel firms to sue insurers

Insurance Claims Africa plans to sue insurers in South Africa for declining COVID-19 pandemic-related business interruption claims of hospitality and travel sector.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Coal firm suspends production at two mines

Poland-based coal mining firm Jastrzebska Spolka Weglowa SA has suspended production at two of its mines following an increase in coronavirus cases among its workers.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Egypt to stop issuing new brokerage licenses

Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority said it would cease issuing new licenses for insurance and reinsurance brokers for 12 months.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

COVID-19 to cost Africa nearly $5 billion in agricultural exports

U.S.-based McKinsey & Co. Inc. expects the COVID-19 pandemic to cost Africa $4.8 billion in lost agricultural exports.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Gallagher acquires Australian broker

U.S.-based insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Australia-based CA Insurance Brokers for an undisclosed amount.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Pandemic costs Indian state $1.6 billion

Manohar Lal Khattar, chief minister of the Indian state of Haryana, said that the COVID-19 pandemic had cost the state up to 120 billion Indian rupees ($1.6 billion) in lost revenue in the last two months.

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Chubb not obligated to defend building operator in pesticide case

A Chubb Ltd. unit is not obligated to defend a building operator sued in connection with spraying pesticides because of its coverage’s pollution exclusion, said a federal appeals court Wednesday, in upholding a lower court ruling.

Posted: Jun 10, 2020

Group presses for police insurance reform; Minneapolis self-insured

Proposals to require police officers to carry professional liability insurance were revived in Minneapolis this week, four years after a similar measure was kept off the ballot.

Posted: Jun 10, 2020

Electrical contractor fined for worker’s electrocution

An electrical contractor must pay $25,000 in fines after a worker was electrocuted while attempting to restore power lines after a thunderstorm.

Posted: Jun 10, 2020

P-Utah town sues over ‘foul’ smells

An “intolerable odor of human feces mixed with industrial waste” has led some residents to limit their time outside and has hindered efforts to bring economic development to West Valley City, Utah, which filed a lawsuit against a waste-processing sit...

Posted: Jun 10, 2020

Court rules exercise could have triggered officer’s heart condition

Physical training for “Olympic-type competitions in track and flag football” could have triggered a corrections officer’s heart condition and not stress due to work, an appeals court in Florida ruled Monday.

Posted: Jun 10, 2020

Soaring D&O rates set to keep climbing: Best

Directors and officers liability insurance rates will likely more than double in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as insurers respond to increased shareholder litigation over the past three years and future litigation over coronavirus-related exposu...

Posted: Jun 10, 2020

Firm president, trader in COVID fraud schemes charged

U.S. authorities on Tuesday said they have charged the head of California medical technology firm Arrayit Corp. and an investor in the company, alleging that they had roles in schemes related to COVID-19 claims.

Posted: Jun 10, 2020

AF Group names new chief underwriting officer

AF Group has named Kelly Fusner chief underwriting officer, the Lansing, Michigan-based insurer announced in a statement Wednesday.

Posted: Jun 10, 2020

GOP senators push FCC to act on Trump social media order

Four Republican U.S. senators on Tuesday urged the Federal Communications Commission to review whether to revise liability protections for internet companies after President Donald Trump urged action.

Posted: Jun 10, 2020