Business Insurance

Gallagher reports 9.5% revenue hike in Q1

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. on Thursday reported a 9.5% increase in brokerage revenues to $1.44 billion for the first quarter.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Case says pay cut will keep Aon intact during crisis

Aon PLC’s top executive on Friday said the salary cut for most staff that Aon announced earlier this week will enable the company to avoid layoffs related to the economic crisis and maintain is service levels for customers.

Posted: May 01, 2020

The BI Top 10: Week of April 27, 2020

To cut pay or not to cut pay? That’s been a key question facing brokers amid the global COVID-19 pandemic. Aon said it was imposing an approximately 20% salary cut on about 70% of its staff, while Marsh and Willis Towers Watson said they intended to...

Posted: May 01, 2020

UK watchdog goes to court to clarify virus coverage

Britain's financial watchdog said it would urgently ask the courts to clarify uncertainty over whether businesses can claim compensation for disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: May 01, 2020

COVID-19 insurance losses seen higher than 9/11 claims: Willis

Insurance broker Willis Towers Watson on Friday estimated property/casualty insurance losses between $32 billion and $80 billion across key classes in the United States and United Kingdom from the novel coronavirus, surpassing claims from the 9/11 at...

Posted: May 01, 2020

Swiss Re plunges into the red

Swiss Re Ltd. reported a net loss of $225 million in the first quarter, compared with a profit of $429 million in the previous year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Transport trucks robbery surges during lockdown

LoJack de Mexico S. de RL de CV, which recovers stolen vehicles, said that robbery of transport trucks has increased 25% in the country during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Posted: May 01, 2020

‘Immaterial’ hit to Scor from Covid-19

French reinsurer Scor SA said that its property/casualty underwriting business has not been materially exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is monitoring developments around business interruption.

Posted: May 01, 2020

3.5 million birds culled after avian flu hits 226 farms

Lajos Bognar, chief veterinary officer of Hungary, said that 3.5 million birds have been culled following the detection of H5N8 strain of avian influeza at 226 farms in the southern counties of Kiskun and Csongrad.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Reinsurance premiums rise more than 11% in Algeria

A report by the National Insurance Council of Algeria said that reinsurance premiums grew more than 11% year-over-year to nearly 36 billion Algeria dinar ($280 million) in 2019.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Tonga to get $4.5 million parametric disaster insurance payout

Tonga will receive a $4.5 million payout from its parametric disaster insurance policy with the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Co. for the damage caused by cyclone Harold.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Chinese airlines warn of deep financial impact from pandemic

China's three largest airlines have warned of deep financial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic, as each reported significant first-quarter losses.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Magnitude-5.4 quake hits Chile

The U.S. Geological Survey said that an earthquake of magnitude 5.4 hit the Chilean town of San Pedro de Atacama on April 30.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Australian insurance body working on pandemic cover

Karl Sullivan, head of risk and operations at the Insurance Council of Australia, said that the council is working on a pandemic cover for the country.

Posted: May 01, 2020

Ruling reversed in insurance misrepresentation case

Citing numerous judicial errors, a federal appeals court has overturned an $8.2 million award to a family in connection with a fatal car accident in which an asphalt company was charged with misrepresenting its insurance coverage.

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Restaurant sues insurer, brokers over COVID-19 coverage

A Kansas City, Missouri, barbecue restaurant seeking coverage for coronavirus-related losses filed suit against its insurer, retail broker and wholesaler on Tuesday.

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Hartford’s profit slides 57% in Q1

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. reported first-quarter net income of $273 million, down 57% from first-quarter 2019, as unrealized losses hit the insurer’s bottom line.

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

NLRB rule change raises worker safety questions

Some contract workers in America's fast-food restaurants, hospitals and warehouses could find it harder to demand equipment and other measures to protect them from the coronavirus under a new labor agency rule, according to workers' advocates and uni...

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Most firms have no return-to-work strategy in place: Survey

More than 73% of companies have not yet created a return-to-work strategy, according to a survey of 150 professionals by attorneys at Philadelphia-based law firm Blank Rome LP released Thursday.

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Willis Towers Watson intends to avoid pay cuts: CEO

Willis Towers Watson PLC CEO John Haley on Thursday signaled during a first-quarter earnings call with analysts that the broker will not be following in Aon PLC’s footsteps and imposing salary cuts on staff amid the economic fallout from COVID-19.

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Previous employer responsible for hearing loss: Appeals court

The hearing loss suffered by a veteran boilermaker working in power plants can be attributed to previous employment, an appeal court in Oregon ruled Wednesday.

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Ohio nurses file OSHA complaint over COVID exposures

The Ohio Nurses Association has filed a complaint with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s Columbus, Ohio, office over alleged hazardous conditions at a state medical center.

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

Marsh expects broking revenue to rise in 2020 despite crisis

Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. could see higher brokerage revenue in 2020, but it expects a “modest decline” in overall revenue for the year due to the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, the firm’s top executives said on Thursday during a fi...

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

UK privacy advocates warn over COVID contact app

Leading privacy advocates in Britain have urged the government to prevent a soon-to-be-launched COVID-19 contact tracing app from turning into a form of state surveillance.

Posted: Apr 30, 2020

ASSP cancels annual conference in favor of virtual event

The American Society of Safety Professionals is the latest association to cancel its annual conference and shift to a virtual event because of the coronavirus pandemic, the society announced Thursday.

Posted: Apr 30, 2020