Business Insurance

McGowan acquires professional liability specialist

Managing general underwriter McGowan Cos., based in Fairview Park, Ohio, said Tuesday it has acquired the assets of Arbanas & Associates, which specializes in writing professional liability, including for accountants, lawyers and architects.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Business Insurance seeks submissions for broker ranking

Business Insurance is seeking additional submissions for the publication’s “Brokers to Watch” ranking in October, which lists brokers on the cusp of the BI Top 100 ranking published in June.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

SEC awards nearly $6 million to two whistleblowers

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday it has awarded almost $6 million to two whistleblowers who provided information and assistance in separate enforcement proceedings.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Maine Insurance Bureau clarifies new telehealth law

Maine in June enacted legislation eliminating the distinction between telehealth services and telephonic services by medical providers, but the Maine Insurance Bureau last week issued a bulletin clarifying the new regulation.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

OSHA cites Illinois grain cooperative for safety failures

A central Illinois grain-handling cooperative is facing $303,510 in fines after soybeans collapsed inside a bin and engulfed an employee up to the waist, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Monday.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Hackers steal Chanel Korea’s customer data

French luxury goods company Chanel SAS’ South Korean unit issued an apology on Aug. 8 after hackers stole its customers’ personal data in a recent cyberattack.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Bayer loses third appeals case over weedkiller

Bayer lost a third appeal of U.S. court verdicts that awarded damages to customers blaming their cancers on use of its glyphosate-based weedkillers, leaving the German drugs and pesticides group to pin hopes for legal relief on the U.S. Supreme Court...

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Sri Lankan insurers see 6% rise in total premium

Data from the Insurance Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka showed that the local insurance industry’s total gross written premium income rose 6% year-on-year to 208.25 billion (1.04 billion) Sri Lankan rupees in 2020.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Abu Dhabi National Insurance’s profit climbs 31%

U.A.E.-based Abu Dhabi National Insurance Co. PSC's net profit increased 31% year-on-year to 248.7 million United Arab Emirates dirham ($68 million) in the first half of the year driven by improved underwriting and investments.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Mount Etna eruption shakes nearby buildings, flight delays possible

Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology said that the Italian volcano Mount Etna erupted on Aug. 9 with strong explosions that rattled the nearby buildings in the Catania province.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Suncorp uses reinsurance just once despite higher nat cat costs

Australian insurer Suncorp Group Ltd. utilized its reinsurance cover only for a single event in the financial year ended June 30, 2021, despite natural catastrophe costs exceeding the budget by almost $60 million Australian ($44 million).

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Recent floods trigger reinsurer’s retro program

German reinsurer Deutsche Ruckversicherung AG said that the losses from the recent floods and rainfall in Germany have triggered its retrocession program.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Allianz’s net income jumps 46% as P&C underwriting performs

German insurer Allianz SE’s net income surged 46% year-on-year to €2.2 billion ($2.6 billion) in the second quarter, driven by a rise in operating profit across all its business segments.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Germany’s flood losses estimated at $30.6 billion

Armin Laschet, Minister-President of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, said that the total damage from the recent floods in Germany is likely to surpass €26 billion ($30.6 billion).

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

‘DeFi’ crime hits record high

Losses from theft, hacks and fraud in “decentralized finance” or DeFi, a thriving segment in the cryptocurrency sector, hit an all-time high in the first seven months of the year, a report from crypto intelligence company CipherTrace showed Tuesday.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Insurers win COVID-19 legal battles, but war over cover continues

While policyholders continue to lose most COVID-19-related business interruption coverage disputes, a clear picture on the issue will likely not emerge before state supreme and federal appellate courts issue more rulings on the issue.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Munich Re says it will meet 2021 profit goal

German reinsurance group Munich Re said Tuesday it would meet its 2021 profit goal as it raised its forecast for gross premiums and predicted higher pandemic-related losses than previously anticipated.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Amazon to pay shoppers hurt by others’ products

Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday said it would pay customers who suffer injuries or property damage from defective goods others sell on its U.S. platform, in a new policy that could reduce litigation.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Swiss Re hires former AIG global trade finance exec

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions has hired former American International Group Inc. executive Marilyn Blattner-Hoyle as global head of trade finance in its global credit and surety unit, effective Aug. 18.

Posted: Aug 10, 2021

Crypto exchange Poloniex agrees to settle SEC charges

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday that Poloniex has agreed to pay roughly $10.4 million to settle charges of operating as an unlicensed cryptocurrency exchange.

Posted: Aug 09, 2021

Lockton Re adds former Guy Carpenter facultative exec

Lockton Re, the reinsurance business of Lockton Cos. LLC, has recruited former Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC executive Rob McNamara as North American facultative leader.

Posted: Aug 09, 2021

Acrisure hires reinsurance broker from Guy Carpenter

Acrisure Re, the reinsurance division of Acrisure LLC, has hired former Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC executive Craig Darling to launch a Florida office.

Posted: Aug 09, 2021

GIC Re closes Dubai office, moves MENA operations to India

India’s state-controlled reinsurer General Insurance Corporation of India has moved its Middle East and North Africa business from Dubai to the Indian state of Gujarat.

Posted: Aug 09, 2021

Kenya Re’s net profits dive 66% as claims increase

Kenya Reinsurance Corp. Ltd.’s net profits plunged 66% year-on-year in the first half of the year, as its loss ratio climbed after a 22% growth in insurance claims to 6.3 billion Kenyan shillings ($58 million).

Posted: Aug 09, 2021

Evacuation ordered as wildfires ravage Greece

Wildfires spreading in the Greek capital of Athens have forced evacuation of thousands of tourists and residents as the fires ravage businesses, homes and cars.

Posted: Aug 09, 2021