Business Insurance

Most British companies not insured for coronavirus closures

(Reuters) — Most companies in Britain don't have insurance cover for closures caused by the coronavirus outbreak, the Association of British Insurers said on Tuesday.

Posted: Mar 17, 2020

Apple fined more than $1 billion in France

French antitrust regulators have fined U.S.-based Apple Inc. a record €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) for engaging in anti-competitive agreements with two technology products wholesalers.

Posted: Mar 17, 2020

Protests fail to dampen Hong Kong premium growth

Data from the Hong Kong Insurance Authority showed that local insurers' gross premiums rose more than 9% year-over-year to surpass $580 billion Hong Kong ($75 billion) in 2019, despite the damage caused by protests in the city-state in the second hal...

Posted: Mar 17, 2020

Volvo recalls 736,000 vehicles

Sweden-based Volvo Cars has recalled 736,000 vehicles in Sweden and Germany over an issue with the automatic emergency brake system.

Posted: Mar 17, 2020

Outbreak to cost Israel $12 billion, wipe out growth

Shira Greenberg, chief economist in Israel's finance ministry, said that the coronavirus outbreak is expected to cost the economy 45 billion Israeli shekels ($12 billion) and wipe out any projected growth.

Posted: Mar 17, 2020

Surge in working from home raises cyber exposure issues

Companies directing large numbers of employees to work from home for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic face a host of cybersecurity issues, including concerns over the security of workers’ personal computers and vulnerability to phis...

Posted: Mar 17, 2020

Explosion damages gas pipeline, supply to depots cut

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. shut down its 2B gas pipeline on March 15 after it was damaged by an explosion that rocked Abule-Ado area of Lagos.

Posted: Mar 17, 2020

Volcano erupts as earthquake hits Italy

Italian volcano Stromboli erupted on March 17 and spewed lava and ash, as a 4.2 magnitude earthquake shook Nocero Scalo in Calabria.

Posted: Mar 17, 2020

Premiums rise more than 12% in Hungary

Data from the central bank of Hungary showed that insurance premiums grew more than 12% year-over-year to surpass 1 trillion Hungarian forint ($3.3 billion) in 2019.

Posted: Mar 17, 2020

Coronavirus and telecommuting: New exposures for employers

With much of America’s workforce working from home in an attempt to reduce the spread of COVID-19, employers may experience an uptick in workers compensation claims, experts say.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Coronavirus coverage tied to physical damage definition: Experts

Open questions about coverage surrounding the coronavirus may well turn on the definition of physical damage and whether the virus or its presence meets that threshold, legal experts say.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Suit filed against firm that promised coronavirus vaccine

A putative securities class action lawsuit has been filed against a pharmaceutical company that allegedly falsely promised a quick coronavirus vaccine, and whose stock plunged once it failed to deliver.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Climate change, cyber top emerging risk concerns: A.M. Best

Climate change, cyber and market/economic/financial risk top the list of emerging risks with which enterprise risk managers cope, according to a report released Monday by ratings agency A.M. Best & Co.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Brown & Brown unit buys Massachusetts-based broker

Brown & Brown Inc. on Monday said a subsidiary has acquired wholesale insurance broker RAL Insurance Intermediaries LLC.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Novel virus spurs novel lawsuit

A Boca Raton, Florida, law firm on Thursday filed a class action against the People’s Republic of China, seeking “billions” over coronavirus, according to several media outlets.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Specialty broker snags Willis Towers Watson exec

EC3 Brokers Ltd., a London-based specialty brokerage, has set up an international financial and professional lines division headed by former longtime Willis Towers Watson PLC executive David Purdy.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

RIMS cancels 2020 convention amid coronavirus spread

The Risk & Insurance Management Society Inc. on Monday canceled its annual conference due to be held May 3-6 in Denver amid the new coronavirus epidemic.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Gallagher buys California brokerage

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has bought San Luis Obispo, California-based brokerage McConnell, Manit & Trout Insurance Services LLC, the brokerage announced Monday.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Ferrari suspends production at two factories

Italy-based Ferrari SpA has suspended production at two of its factories for two weeks citing "serious difficulties" due to the country being in lockdown in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Magnitude-5.1 quake hits Canterbury, again

An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 struck near northern Canterbury in New Zealand on March 16.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

UK pub firm's insurance does not cover coronavirus

U.K.-based pub company Ei Group PLC has said that its existing insurance policies will not cover its outlets for loss of business due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Hospital in Czech Republic suffers cyber attack

Czech Republic's University Hospital Brno suffered a cyber attack and had to turn off its information technology systems, suggesting that its infrastructure may have been encrypted by ransomware.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Outbreak disrupts carmakers' Spanish operations

Germany-based Volkswagen AG's Spanish division Seat has temporarily halted operations at local plants due to supply problems in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Cyber attack biggest issue facing global supply chains

A study by supply chain risk management software platform Resilience360 named cyber attacks one of the biggest issues facing global supply chains this year.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020

Bulgarian nonlife insurers' premiums rise nearly 16%

Data from Bulgaria's Financial Supervision Commission showed that local nonlife insurers' gross written premiums grew nearly 16% year-over-year to 2.4 billion Bulgarian levs ($1.4 billion) in 2019.

Posted: Mar 16, 2020