Business Insurance

Commercial property/casualty rates jump 9.3% in Q1

Commercial property/casualty rates increased an average of 9.3% across all lines in the first quarter, according to the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers’ latest pricing survey, which was issued Tuesday.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Legislation for pandemic reinsurance program introduced

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, late Monday officially introduced legislation to establish a federal pandemic risk reinsurance program and said an alternative plan backed by some insurers was u...

Posted: May 26, 2020

Animal products firm faces COVID-related shareholder suit

A shareholder has filed a putative class-action lawsuit against an animal products manufacturer and its directors and officers, charging them with issuing false and misleading information after it revised its earnings projections based on the COVID-1...

Posted: May 26, 2020

Law firm sues for income lost due to court closure

A Georgia bankruptcy law firm sued its insurer last week seeking business interruption coverage for income it allegedly lost after courtrooms in the state were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Posted: May 26, 2020

SCOR scraps dividend; CEO takes pay cut

French reinsurer SCOR SE announced Monday that it would withdraw its proposed dividend to shareholders and its top executive would forgo 30% of his bonus in light of regulatory recommendations issued since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Injured woman barred from claiming sexual harassment

The exclusive remedy provision in Tennessee workers compensation law prohibits a woman from filing a sexual harassment and hostile worker environment claim under state human rights law because her injury did not involve previously reported harassment...

Posted: May 26, 2020

Virus presumption order could make up 7% of claims costs

A mid-range estimate of what COVID-19 workers compensation presumption could comprise about 7% of the $18.3 billion estimated annual cost of claims in California prior to the pandemic, according to a report released Friday by the California Workers C...

Posted: May 26, 2020

Houston International Insurance names Andrew Robinson CEO

Houston International Insurance Group Ltd. has named Andrew Robinson as CEO, succeeding company founder and outgoing CEO Stephen L. Way.

Posted: May 26, 2020

SEC cracks down on coronavirus misconduct

The novel coronavirus outbreak and economic fallout are proving to be a bonanza for whistleblower lawyers as the Securities and Exchange Commission cracks down on a range of related misconduct from companies touting sham cures to misuse of federal ai...

Posted: May 26, 2020

New emissions blow for VW as court backs damages claims

Volkswagen must pay compensation to owners of vehicles with rigged diesel engines in Germany, a court ruled on Monday, dealing a fresh blow to the automaker almost five years after its emissions scandal erupted.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Bayer reports progress in talks over weedkiller

Bayer AG said on Monday it had made progress seeking a settlement over claims its glyphosate-based Roundup weedkiller causes cancer, after Bloomberg reported the company reached a verbal agreement on about 50,000 to 85,000 cases.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Illinois lawmakers pass COVID-19 bill

Illinois lawmakers in both houses on Friday passed an omnibus labor bill that would provide death benefits for first responders who were presumably infected with COVID-19 on duty and workers compensation benefits for essential workers under certain c...

Posted: May 26, 2020

Pandemic prompts call for EU backup

A European Union framework is needed to provide insurance cover for catastrophes such as pandemics and huge cyberattacks, the Federation of European Risk Management said on Tuesday.

Posted: May 26, 2020

French restaurant ruling puts coronavirus claims on global menu

Axa S.A. said on Tuesday it would meet the bulk of business interruption claims from some restaurant owners in France after it lost a court case that was seen as a potential precedent for coronavirus-related disputes across the world.

Posted: May 26, 2020

COVID-19 lawsuit takes on McDonald's like it was a rowdy bar

As U.S. businesses reopen, worried workers and their advocates are borrowing a legal strategy commonly used to shut down rowdy topless bars to try and force employers to strengthen protection against further spread of the coronavirus.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Pandemic gives push to digital technologies

Travel restrictions and lockdowns related to the coronavirus pandemic have made commercial property inspections and loss investigations more challenging to conduct, experts say.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Employers balance protecting workers’ health, privacy

As businesses welcome workers back into the workplace, employers must tread a narrow path between gathering information to protect their workers’ health and protecting their privacy, experts say.

Posted: May 26, 2020

South Korean insurers sell office buildings to free up cash

South Korean insurers are selling off real estate and office buildings to free up cash to comply with a new capital and accounting standard and in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: May 26, 2020

VW to pay 60,000 customers over emissions-cheating software

Germany-based Volkswagen AG has lost a lawsuit against a single car owner that will pave the way for it paying out in excess of 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to thousands of customers.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Tea industry loses nearly $280 million due to pandemic

The tea industry in the Indian states of West Bengal and Assam has lost 21 billion Indian rupees ($278 million) due to the COVID-19 pandemic as production dipped by a whopping 65% in the past two months.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Equity firm buys Swedish insurer from Willis Towers Watson

Swedish equity firm Nordic Capital Svenska AB is acquiring local insurer Max Matthiessen AB from insurance broker Willis Towers Watson PLC.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Over 1,000 pubs interested in COVID-19 insurance test case

More than 1,000 pubs are watching a test case that has come before the Commercial Court in Ireland over whether insurer FBD Holdings PLC should pay for the losses of pubs closed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Personal information of 29 million job seekers leaked

U.S.-based cyber risk intelligence platform Cyble said that personal information of 29 million Indian job seekers is available online for free.

Posted: May 26, 2020

Amphan-related claims to surpass $46 million in India

Insurance claims related to cyclone Amphan that hit the Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha on May 20 are likely to reach 3.5 billion Indian rupees ($46.3 million).

Posted: May 25, 2020

EasyJet faces $22 million lawsuit over data breach

U.K.-based budget airline EasyJet PLC faces a £18 billion ($22 million) class action lawsuit over the leak of personal data of nine million customers.

Posted: May 25, 2020