Business Insurance

UK insurers working to develop pandemic backstop

The U.K. insurance industry has formed a steering committee comprising several top insurance company bosses who will work with government-backed terrorism reinsurance fund Pool Re to develop a pandemic cover, the group said on Tuesday.

Posted: Apr 21, 2020

Travelers posts lower profit as catastrophe claims jump

Travelers Cos. Inc. on Tuesday reported a 25% fall in quarterly profit, hurt by higher catastrophe losses, as insurers braced for a slew of claims due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: Apr 21, 2020

Boeing's Japanese component suppliers halt production

Japanese aerospace components manufacturers Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. and Subaru Corp. have suspended production of aircraft components for U.S.-based Boeing Co. for about two weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: Apr 21, 2020

China faces trillions of dollars of lawsuits over handling of outbreak

The Chinese government is facing multiple lawsuits amounting to trillions of U.S. dollars over the way it has handled the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: Apr 21, 2020

Sava Re expects 20% drop in profit due to pandemic

Slovenia-based insurer and reinsurer Pozavarovalnica Sava dd expects coronavirus pandemic to reduce its net profit by around 15%-20% this year.

Posted: Apr 21, 2020

Thai Re expects to report 10% premium growth despite pandemic

Oran Vongsuraphichet, chief executive of Thai Reinsurance PCL, said that the reinsurer expects to grow its premiums 10% growth this year despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: Apr 21, 2020

Insurers' restructuring on schedule

Wimboh Santoso, chairman of the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia, said that the pandemic has not disrupted the restructuring process of troubled insurers.

Posted: Apr 21, 2020

Travelers hits back with COVID-19 claims denial suit

Travelers Cos. Inc. fired back against a policyholder seeking business interruption coverage for coronavirus-related losses, filing suit against a Los Angeles lawyer who sued the insurer earlier this month.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Marsh sues advisory firm with ex-employee’s departure

Marsh LLC has filed suit against a benefits advisory firm and a former executive, charging them with conspiring to take confidential and proprietary information.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

MMA sues advisory firm with ex-employee’s departure

Marsh & McLennan Agency has filed suit against a benefits advisory firm and a former executive, charging them with conspiring to take confidential and proprietary information.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

California virus comp costs projected to reach as high as $33.6B

Expanding workers compensation to include a COVID-19 presumption for essential workers in California could carry an annual price tag of as much as $33.6 billion — 61% of the estimated total cost of the state’s workers comp system prior to the pandemi...

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Comp premiums likely to dip as employment declines: NCCI

Workers compensation premiums will likely drop as employment declines, according to a report released Monday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

RIMS urges Congress to create backstop for pandemic insurance

The Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. on Monday urged Congress to create a federal backstop for pandemic insurance, as 65% of U.S. risk managers said they would be prepared to pay just 5% more for pandemic risk insurance coverage.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Fraud, by the book

Cybersecurity researchers at Terbium Labs combed through listings on three major dark websites and found that 49% of all data being sold consisted of guides on how to commit online fraud, especially targeting the financial sector, according to techno...

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Lawyers file multiple class actions seeking virus coverage

A group of law firms filed six class action lawsuits against insurers in federal courts from California to New York on Friday on behalf of commercial policyholders seeking business interruption coverage for coronavirus-related losses.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

OSHA releases manufacturing guidance following several outbreaks

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has released guidance for the manufacturing sector offering strategies to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

JetBlue sued for offering credit in coronavirus cancellations

A putative class action lawsuit has been filed against JetBlue Airways Corp. alleging the airline is violating its customer contracts by offering credit for canceled flights rather than a refund.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

High court sides with BP unit to curtail Superfund site cleanup suits

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday threw out a lower court ruling that had allowed litigation by Montana landowners to proceed against BP PLC unit Atlantic Richfield Co. seeking a more extensive cleanup of a hazardous waste site than the federal govern...

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Cognizant hit by 'Maze' ransomware attack

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. on Saturday said it was hit by a "Maze" ransomware cyberattack, resulting in service disruptions for some of its clients.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Volkswagen settles emissions class action with bulk of claimants

Volkswagen has reached settlements with 200,000 of the 260,000 claimants participating in a class action lawsuit brought by German consumer group VZBV over the carmaker's rigging of diesel emissions tests, the carmaker said on Monday.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Lloyd's collating business interruption data for regulator

Lloyd's of London is collating details of insurers' business interruption coverage for the Prudential Regulation Authority and is in discussions about a government backstop to cover future pandemics, it said in a letter seen by Reuters.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Amazon extends closure of warehouses in France

U.S.-based Amazon Inc. plans to keep its six warehouses in France closed until at least April 21 as a row about sanitary conditions continues.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Central bank to launch $8-billion loan program for insurers, brokers

The central bank of South Korea plans to launch a 10 trillion South Korean won ($8.2 billion) loan program for insurers and brokers.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Greek bank postpones sale of insurance unit

The National Bank of Greece has put the sale of its insurance unit, Ethniki Asfalisitiki, on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020

Insurance industry proposes pandemic insurance pool

The Indian insurance industry has proposed a pandemic insurance pool to tackle possible claims from coronavirus-type of outbreak.

Posted: Apr 20, 2020