Business Insurance

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

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