Claims Journal

Michigan’s No-Penalty Period for Uninsured Drivers Starts July 2

Beginning July 2, uninsured drivers in Michigan can get insurance coverage without facing penalties during an 18-month amnesty period, state insurance regulators say. The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) said drivers sho...

Posted: Jun 16, 2020

AI Cameras Give Amazon Employees Real-Time Social Distancing Feedback

Amazon Inc. is pairing cameras with artificial intelligence to enforce social distancing among employees in its offices and warehouses. The system gives employees real time feedback on whether they are complying with the six feet social distancing ru...

Posted: Jun 16, 2020

Woman Suing Over New Hampshire Crash That Killed 7 Motorcyclists Seeks Delay

A woman who lost her partner in a collision that killed seven motorcyclists last year in New Hampshire wants to put a pause on her lawsuit against the company that employed a pickup truck driver involved in the crash. Mediation …

Posted: Jun 16, 2020

SUVs More Deadly to Pedestrians Than Passenger Cars, Says Insurance Safety Study

SUVs are more likely than passenger cars to injure or kill pedestrians, according to a new U.S. insurance industry study which recommended design changes to improve safety. Sport utility vehicles “seem to be more deadly to pedestrians than cars are,”...

Posted: Jun 16, 2020

Software Allows Drones to Monitor Social Distancing, Face Masks

Airspace Systems, a California startup company that makes drones that can hunt down and capture other drones, last Thursday released new software for monitoring social distancing and face-mask wearing from the air. The software analyzes video streams...

Posted: Jun 16, 2020

Supreme Court Rules Gay, Transgender Employees Protected From Bias

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday delivered a watershed victory for LGBT rights, ruling that a landmark federal law forbidding workplace discrimination protects gay and transgender employees. The 6-3 ruling represented the biggest moment for LGBT righ...

Posted: Jun 15, 2020

Wildfire Expert Warns Against July 3 Mount Rushmore Fireworks Show

A July 3 fireworks display planned at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial would be “ill advised” because of the abnormally dry conditions and risk of summer wildfires, a fire expert said. The event could attract as many as 7,500 people, …

Posted: Jun 15, 2020

Crews Battle Arizona Wildfires on Several Fronts in Extreme Heat

Crews took advantage of cooler temperatures overnight to complete a burnout in advance of a wildfire to stop it from reaching homes near mountains adjoining metro Tucson, fire management officials said Saturday. The burnout of vegetation to deprive t...

Posted: Jun 15, 2020

How COVID-19 Court Lockdowns May Turn the Social Inflation Tide

Defense attorney Ellen Greiper reported receiving more than the usual number of phone calls from plaintiffs attorneys earlier this month, suggesting that the call dynamics could be signaling a COVID-driven change in social inflation trends. “I have h...

Posted: Jun 15, 2020

South Carolina Conservation Groups Warn Charleston Development Will Worsen Flooding

Conservation groups in South Carolina are challenging a 3,000-acre (12,100-hectare) development project in Charleston over concerns that a loss of wetlands could worsen flooding in an already flood-prone area. The Sierra Club and the South Carolina W...

Posted: Jun 15, 2020

Alabama City Will Pay $300K in Bitcoin Ransom to End Computer System Hack

A city in northern Alabama will pay a ransom worth $300,000 in Bitcoins in response to a hack of its computer system. Florence City Council voted unanimously at an emergency meeting Wednesday evening to make the payment from the city’s …

Posted: Jun 15, 2020

Edge Computing, Supply Chains, Deepfakes Among 2020’s Top Emerging Risks: Swiss Re

Pandemic threats were once on the list of potential emerging risks facing the insurance industry and society. Now that this risk has materialized with the COVID-19 crisis, it is perhaps a good time to take a look at the latest …

Posted: Jun 15, 2020

Safety Agency Warns of Tail Strikes, Off-Course Flying by Near-Empty Airplanes

One nearly empty passenger jet “climbed like a rocket,” prompting the pilots to exceed their assigned altitude. Others have scraped their tails on takeoff, gone off course or strayed close enough to other aircraft to prompt mid-air collision alerts....

Posted: Jun 15, 2020

Lawsuit Filed Against Charter Firm Over Fatal Crash of WWII-Era Plane

A lawsuit has been filed against the owners and operators of a World War II-era airplane that crashed at a Connecticut airport last October, killing seven people. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in state Superior Court by survivors of the crash …

Posted: Jun 12, 2020

Insurers Distance Themselves from Disputed Adani Project Amid Global Coal Backlash

Global insurance companies linked to Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in Australia are distancing themselves from the controversial development, as pressure mounts on financial institutions to cut their ties to the fossil fuel industry. A growing global...

Posted: Jun 12, 2020

After Being Sued by Sonos, Google Counters with Patent Infringement Claims

Google filed a lawsuit accusing home speaker maker Sonos Inc. of infringing five of its patents, escalating tensions between the partners that have already led to a U.S. International Trade Commission probe. In a complaint filed on Thursday in San …

Posted: Jun 12, 2020

McLarens Acquires Energy Claims Specialist LWI in London

Atlanta-based global insurance claims management firm McLarens reported it has acquired London-based Lloyd Warwick International (LWI), a provider of global specialty loss and insurance adjusters. McLaren purchased the firm from LWI employees and Cra...

Posted: Jun 12, 2020

Nebraska Warns of $3.7B in Potential Farm Revenue Losses from Coronavirus

Nebraska potentially faces nearly $3.7 billion in agricultural losses from the coronavirus pandemic if economic conditions do not improve, the Nebraska Farm Bureau said. Its estimate projects revenue losses for this year’s commodities, including corn...

Posted: Jun 12, 2020

California Regulator Says Uber, Lyft Drivers Are Employees

Drivers working for ride-hailing services such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. will be considered employees under California’s new gig worker law, the state’s leading industry regulator said on Thursday. Shares in Uber and Lyft fell 5.3% and...

Posted: Jun 12, 2020

How Coronavirus Could Add Additional Stress to D&O Insurance Market

Players should expect the directors and officers insurance market to “undergo radical changes” based on 2019 results and the “unprecedented turbulence” created by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an A.M. Best report. A.M. Best expects that the eff...

Posted: Jun 12, 2020

Insurers’ Estimates of Coronavirus Business Interruption Claims Questioned

U.S. property and casualty insurers have cast the coronavirus pandemic as an unprecedented event whose massive cost to small businesses they are neither able nor required to cover. The industry has warned it could cost them $255 billion to $431 …

Posted: Jun 12, 2020

Coronavirus Survey Last Call: How Have the Pandemic, Lockdowns Affected You?

No matter where you work in the property/casualty insurance industry, your experience is important. How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting you now? Going forward? What do you expect to change? When will you be ready to travel? How do you …

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Parents File Second Lawsuit Over University of Utah Student’s Shooting Death

The parents of a University of Utah student who was shot and killed on campus in 2018 has filed another lawsuit against the school In the lawsuit, Jill and Matt McCluskey allege the university violated the state constitution by dismissing …

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

Uber, Lyft Drivers Are Employees Under New State Law, California Regulator Rules

Drivers working for ride-hailing services such as Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. will be considered employees under California’s new gig worker law, the state’s leading industry regulator said on Thursday. Shares in Uber and Lyft fell 5.3% and...

Posted: Jun 11, 2020

New York Charges Drugmaker Endo with Insurance Fraud Over Opioid Claims

New York state filed civil charges on Wednesday accusing Endo International Plc of insurance fraud for misrepresenting the safety and efficacy of its opioid drugs, adding fuel to the nation’s opioid crisis. Governor Andrew Cuomo said the charges brou...

Posted: Jun 11, 2020