Business Insurance

Energy insurer drops ‘Oil’ from brand names

Bermuda-based energy insurer OIL Group of Cos. announced Tuesday that it has changed its name to Everen Group and also renamed its operating units.

Posted: Jun 29, 2022

Workplace safety lessons learned from the pandemic

Workplace safety leaders who scrambled with the unprecedented shutdowns, mandated protocols, staffing shortages and telecommuting arrangements resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic can now use what they learned to prepare for the next health emergency...

Posted: Jun 29, 2022

Texas attorney general opens investigation into Walmart opioid sales

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Tuesday he was investigating whether Walmart improperly filled prescriptions and failed to report suspicious orders when selling opioid drugs.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Canadian hotel operators agree to settle sexual harassment suit

Two Canadian-based hotel operators have agreed to pay $370,00 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which charged them with permitting a male maintenance/housekeeping manager to sexually hara...

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Former HR manager’s retaliation suit reinstated

A federal appeals court on Tuesday reinstated a retaliation lawsuit filed by a former Georgia Pacific LLC human resources manager who was allegedly terminated shortly after revealing she had given a deposition in favor of employees in a pregnancy dis...

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Amwins, FusionMGA partner on cyber cover

Amwins Group Inc. said Tuesday it is partnering with FusionMGA, a Kansas City, Kansas, cyber insurtech managing general agent, to provide cyber liability coverage for accounts without minimum security controls in place.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Unknown company attempts to take a bite out of Apple

An Austin-based company with no known business history but with a patent for “wireless communication jewelry” is suing Apple Inc. for infringement over the sale of AirPods, according to Apple company watchdog groups.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Cable company to appeal $375M jury verdict in murder

A cable company said it plans to appeal a $375 million jury verdict in which it was found 90% liable in an employee’s murder of an 83-year-old customer.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

SiriusPoint’s A- rating placed on creditwatch by S&P

Rating agency S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday placed its A- financial strength rating of Bermuda insurer and reinsurer SiriusPoint Ltd. on watch for a potential downgrade.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Video: The BI Interview with Michael Costonis of CNA

Michael Costonis, global head of marketing, strategy and innovation at CNA, discusses the development of partnerships between insurers and insurtechs and how technology is changing the industry.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Setting fee schedules a balance for states: WCRI

Researchers with the Workers Compensation Research Institute said states seeking to adopt or update workers compensation fee schedules ought to consider ramifications of setting fees too low or high, balancing cost containment and adequate care for i...

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Markel establishes complex construction team

Markel Corp. said Tuesday it has formed a complex construction team headed up by Vince Colosimo, construction practice leader at the Richmond, Virginia-based insurer.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Woodruff Sawyer subsidiary rolls out MGA

Woodruff Sawyer & Co. said Tuesday that its Nomadx subsidiary has introduced a managing general agent, Nomadx Trustee Liability MGA, devoted exclusively to trustee liability that will offer $5 million in liability coverage.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Nomination deadline for U.S. Insurance Awards extended

Business Insurance on Tuesday extended the nomination deadline to July 11 for the 2022 U.S. Insurance Awards, which will be announced and presented live in New York in September.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Oklahoma reaches opioid settlement with drug distributors

Oklahoma has reached a $250 million settlement with AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. to resolve allegations the drug distributors contributed to the opioid epidemic in the state, Oklahoma Attorney General John O'Connor...

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Appeals court vacates federal vaccine mandate pending hearing

A federal appeals court panel said Monday it would convene a full panel to reconsider President Joe Biden’s executive order requiring civilian federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and set aside the order pending that hearing.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

High court denial to hear state pot comp cases muddies issue: Advocate

A Washington, D.C.-based medical marijuana advocacy group says the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision to not weigh in on whether employees can be reimbursed for their medical marijuana-related costs through their workers compensation further compli...

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Norsk Hydro sued in Netherlands over alleged Brazilian river contamination

Norwegian aluminum and renewable energy company Norsk Hydro ASA has been sued in a Dutch court for allegedly polluting the Brazilian river of Barcarena for around 20 years, causing serious health problems in the nearby communities.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Reinsurance to help cover flood-related losses of insurers

South Africa-based Rand Merchant Investment Holdings Ltd. said its insurance subsidiaries, OUTsurance Holdings Ltd. in South Africa and Youi Pty Ltd. in Australia, have catastrophe reinsurance programs to cover them adequately for the recent flood-re...

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Parametric insurance payouts worth $40 million paid for severe rains

China’s insurance regulator said that severe rainfall and floods since late May have triggered parametric catastrophe insurance payouts for 16 cities in the Guangdong province.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Toxic gas leak after accident at port kills 13, halts operations

A toxic gas leak from the crashing of a storage tank filled with 25 tons of chlorine at Jordan’s Aqaba port on June 27 killed 13 people and sickened more than 250 others.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Moody’s revises QBE’s outlook to “stable” over robust underwriting performance

U.S.-based Moody’s Investors Service Inc. expects Australia-based QBE Insurance Group Ltd.’s strong underwriting performance from 2021 to continue for another 12 to 18 months, driven by continued rate hikes, declining attritional claims ratios and hi...

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Gallagher acquires UK broker

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said Tuesday it has acquired Erimus Group Ltd. of Teesside, England.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Florida filing supports PTSD cover for first responders

Florida’s chief financial officer and the Florida Department of Financial Services said in court filings that the state’s workers compensation laws allow first responders to receive medical benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder without having a...

Posted: Jun 28, 2022

Catastrophic cyber risks pose challenge to insurance sector

U.S. critical infrastructure remains exposed to cyberattacks with limited insurance protection available, a government report released last week said, but experts differ on how the problem should be addressed.

Posted: Jun 28, 2022