Business Insurance

CNA reports steep Q1 loss as COVID hurts investments

CNA Financial Corp. on Monday reported a net loss of $61 million in the first quarter of 2020 compared with a $342 million profit in the same quarter of last year as coronavirus-related market turmoil hit the insurer’s investments.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Brokerage completes energy acquisition

Brokerage IMA Financial Group Inc. has completed its acquisition of Kittanning, Pennsylvania-based ESS NexTier Insurance Group, in a deal expanding its energy practice and presence in the Northeast.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Cumulative trauma claim for aging custodian denied

The Supreme Court of Iowa on Friday denied compensation for cumulative trauma injuries suffered by a custodian who slipped on wet grass in 2008 and continued to suffer after surgery and continued work.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Birrane named Maryland insurance commissioner

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has named Kathleen A. Birrane as commissioner of the Maryland Insurance Administration.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Insurtech deals up, funding down amid pandemic: Willis

More insurtech deals were completed in the first quarter, compared with the year-earlier period, but overall funding declined 54% to $912 million amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Willis Towers Watson’s Quarterly InsurTech Briefing released...

Posted: May 04, 2020

Memory loss, attention deficits a physical ailment: Appeals court

A Baltimore police officer is eligible for a disability retirement for injuries suffered in the line of duty after he was diagnosed with memory loss and attention deficits following a work-related concussion, an appeals court in Maryland ruled Friday...

Posted: May 04, 2020

Insurer breaks up with ‘Love Island’

Producers for the television show “Love Island” have vowed to keep producers and contestants safe, but insurers aren’t having it, according to media outlets in the U.K.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Insurers consult crystal balls on coronavirus costs

Insurers are normally great with numbers. But the coronavirus pandemic has them struggling to estimate how many billions of dollars in losses they face, and what the fallout will be for their massive investment portfolios.

Posted: May 04, 2020

U.S. Supreme Court agrees to review microcaptive case

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a case involving a captive manager’s challenge to an Internal Revenue Service notice on microcaptives that stated they could be used for tax evasion and labeling them “a transaction of interest” reporta...

Posted: May 04, 2020

Buffett's Berkshire posts record Q1 loss amid pandemic

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is being hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, posting a record quarterly net loss of nearly $50 billion on Saturday and saying performance is suffering in several major operating businesses.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Oil firm ordered to pay $1 billion for gas field explosion

The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Dispute has ordered Canadian oil firm Niko Resources Ltd. to pay more than $1 billion to Bangladesh for Chhatak gas field explosion that occurred in January 2005.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Banks to pay $30 million for bribing FIFA committee members

Israel's Bank Hapoalim BM and its Swiss subsidiary Hapoalim Ltd. have agreed to pay more than $30 million for conspiring to launder over $20 million in bribes to FIFA executive committee members.

Posted: May 04, 2020

UK broker seeks funds for COVID-19 business interruption claims

U.K.-based leisure and hospitality insurance broker NDML Ltd. has asked the government to release funds from local terrorism risk reinsurer Pool Reinsurance Co. Ltd. to help pay business interruption claims related to the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Abu Dhabi National Insurance's premiums rise nearly 8%

U.A.E.-based Abu Dhabi National Insurance Co. P.S.C.'s gross written premiums grew nearly 8% year-over-year to around 1.9 billion United Arab Emirates dirham ($517 million) in the first quarter.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Magnitude-5.5 quake hits Puerto Rico, damages buildings

The U.S. Geological Survey said that a 5.5-magnitude earthquake hit the city of Ponce in Puerto Rico on May 2, and damaged several buildings.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Property insurance market falls 20% due to pandemic

Nicolaus Prawiro, deputy director at insurer PT Asuransi Cakrawala Proteksi Indonesia, said that country's property insurance market fell nearly 20% year-over-year in the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: May 04, 2020

Evolving laws sharpening focus on data privacy risk

From the General Data Protection Regulation to the California Consumer Privacy Act, new laws are pushing risk managers, brokers and insurers to improve cyber risk management. Learn more from Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance in this Risk Perspec...

Posted: May 04, 2020

Radiology group cites ‘sue and labor’ clause in virus suit

A radiology practice sued its insurer Wednesday claiming it was owed coverage for coronavirus-related losses under the “sue and labor” clause in its policy, among other reasons.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Senators offer privacy bill for COVID-19 contact tracing

A group of Republican U.S. senators said Thursday they would introduce legislation to address consumer privacy concerns surrounding technology companies' efforts to help build contact tracing apps to fight the new coronavirus outbreak.

Posted: May 01, 2020

NCCI launches tool to estimate pandemic impact on comp

The National Council for Compensation Insurance on Friday launched an online tool designed to help states and employers calculate the impact COVID-19 could have on workers compensation.

Posted: May 01, 2020

House panel calls on Bezos to testify on third-party sellers

The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Friday called on Amazon.com Chief Executive and founder Jeff Bezos to testify to the panel about allegations that the online retailer uses data from its own third-party sellers to create compet...

Posted: May 01, 2020

Chicken and the sea? Nope, fraud investigators say

Shellfish in the chicken? Smells fishy, insurance company says regarding an alleged scam where two Atlanta-area women claimed they had an allergic reaction after eating chicken at local restaurants, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Trump signs order to protect U.S. electricity system

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that seeks to protect the U.S. electricity system from cyber and other attacks, the Energy Department said in a release, in a move that could eventually put barriers on some imports from Chin...

Posted: May 01, 2020

Business Insurance names 2020 Break Out Award winners

Business Insurance on Friday announced the 40 winners of its 2020 Break Out Awards.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Republicans push for virus lawsuit immunity

The top Republicans in the U.S. Congress displayed a united front on Friday in their drive to include coronavirus-related liability protections for businesses, saying such measures will be crucial to talks about future relief legislation.

Posted: May 01, 2020